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AND 

SKETCHES  OF  THE  FRIENDS'  MEXICAN  MISSION. 

BY  SAMUEL  A.  PURDIE. 


PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION  OF  FRIENDS, 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 

1885. 


ERRATA. 

A  few  typographical  errors  have  escaped  the  attention  of  the 
author  in  proofreading. 

Page  81. — CHAPTER  xin  should  be  CHAPTER  xii. 

The  division  of  several  words  at  end  of  lines  has  been  acciden 
tally  erroneous. 

The  statement  on  page  48  that  there  were  only  two  inquisitions 
in  Spain  in  1559.  is  probably  an  error,  yet  the  Autos  in  which 
Protestants  suffered  were  limited  to  Valladolid  and  Seville. 

By  the  statement  on  page  97-"who  though  knowy,under  another 
name  are  really  Jesuit,"  it  is  not  intended  to  state  that  the 
"Oblates  of  Mary"  are  a  part  of  the  Jesuit  order,  but  a  kindred 
institution. 


INTRODUCTORY  SKETCH. 


great  liberal  movement  of  1857,  led  by  Benito  Juarez,  gave  v 
religious  liberty  to  Mexico  and  paved  the  way  for  a  reform  move- 
ment, &  for  introducing  the  Protestant  worship  into  the  country. 
Soon  after  two  priests  led  forward  two  independent  movements 
in  this  direction.  That  of  Ramon  Lozano  is  clearly  portrayed  in 
this  volume.  One  in  the  city  of  Mexico  initiated  by  a  priest  named 
Aguilar  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Mission 
established  about  the  year  1869  or  1870.  In  this  latter  year  a  Do- 
minican Priest  named  Manuel  Aguas  read  several  leaflets  with  a 
view  to  refute  the  arguments  of  the  Protestant  missionaries  but 
becoming  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  reasonings  of  his  oppon- 
ents lie  openly  espoused  the  Protestant  cause  which  he  defended 
with  ability  and  preached  with  an  energy  superior  to  his  physical 
strength.  In  November  of  1872  he  was  left  in  charge  of  the  mis- 
sion by  Bishop  Riley,  and  on  one  occasion  fainted  in  the  pulpit 
ami  was  carried  to  his  room  where  he  died  from  the  results  of 
his  over  exertion. 

He  was  an  able  controversial  writer  and  his  death  was  a  severe 
stroke  to  the  cause,  yet  just  at  that  time  the  missions  which  had 
been  opened  in  Zacatecas  and  Nuevo  Leon  by  the  American 
Christian  Union  began  gaining  strength,  the  Baptist  churches 
were  organized,  and  the  Friends'  Mexican  Mission  was  opened  by\ 
the  writer  of  this  volume  on  the  28th  of  November  1871. 

My  attention  was  called  to  this  field,  because  having  become 
interested  in  the  spread  of  peace  principles,  for  which  I  had  suf- 
fered somewhat  during  the  war  which  desolated  my  native  land, 
I  longed  to  do  something  to  stay  the  tide  of  blood  which  was 
being  shed  in  intestine  strife  in  these  countries,  and  to  give  them 
the  Gospel  of  peace  and  purity  in  place  of  their  superstitious 
Romanism,  and  the  degrading  influence  of  their  priesthood. 

My  aim  was  a  Publishing  House,  and  the  title  of  our  paper, 
UE1  Ramo  de  Olivo,"  was  written  on  a  fly  leaf  of  my  Latin  Lex 
icon,  long  ere  I  offered  my  services  to  the  Friends'  Foreign  Mis- 
sion Association  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting,  which  was  in  April 
1871. 

Just  after  offering  my  services  to  them  1  learned  that  a  Span- 
iard was  working  in  a  gold  mine  about  three  miles  from  my  home, 
near  Ashboro  N.  C.  and  on  making  him  a  visit,  being  able  to 
speak  intelligibly  a  few  words  in  his  native  tongue,  this  fact  drew 

v 


V!  INTKolH  <  T"K\    SKKTCH. 

him   to  me  iii   Dear  affection.     I  often   read   with   him   in    Spanish 
Tracts  ;iiid  on  leaving  lor  Mexico  gave  him  my  Spanish  P>il>le. 

My  expectation  was  to  locate  at  Victoria,  capital  of  Tamauli- 
pas,  ami  if  possible  make  the  work  as  near  self-sustaining  :is 
practicable. 

At  that  time  there  were  no  international  mail  facilities  between 
the  Spanish  American  Republics,  and  it  was  evident  that  my  ex- 
pectations would  in  part  be  frustrated.  It  was  providential  that 
I  was  in  the  field  with  a-  use  of  the  language  perhaps  surpassed 
by  few  foreigners  and  with  an  able  corps  of  native  contributors 
to  the  paper  ere  it  could  wing  its  way  to  those  countries. 

Detained  in  Matamoros  by  the  Revolution  which  terminated 
with  the  deatli  of  Benito  Juarez,  a  congregation  had  gathered 
around  us  giving  promise  of  great  local  good,  and  it  did  not  seen; 
best  to  leave  this  gathering  for  a  new  field,  and  thus  for  our 
book  work  this  change  proved  very  beneficial  as  it  placed  us  in 
the  free  trade  belt  where  we  could  import  paper  free  of  duty,  thus 
reducing  the  cost  of  materials  to  one  half  what  it  would  have  been 
at  Victoria,  and  AVC  could  also  use  the  facilities  of  the  United 
{States  postal  laws  for  remitting  our  publications  to  other  Spanish 
Countries,  thus  we  see  the  wisdom  of  our  Heavenly  Father  in 
detaining  us  where  we  could  be  most  extensively  useful. 

Our  first  work  was  tract  distribution  from'  our  rooms  at  04  and 
60  Calle  de  Matamoros,  and  we  were  abundantly  supplied  with 
those  issued  by  the  American  Tract  Society,  through  the  kind  in- 
fluence of  our  friend  Kobert  Lindley  Murray,  and  through  the 
kindness  of  the  American  Bible  Society  books  were  furnished  for 
a  vigorous  canvass  of  the  city,  wrhere  over  500  Bibles  and  Testa 
men'ts  were  circulated  through  our  agency  during  the  year  1S7L'. 
Often  in  after  years  on  interrogating  a  new  convert,  either  in  our 
own  or  the  Presbyterian  Mission,  they  would  refer  to  books  which 
they  had  received  through  our  canvassers,  who  received  a  small 
compensation  from  sales,  but  never  hesitated  to  give  when  it 
seemed,  best. 

In  the  summer  of  1871*  our  Friend  Anna  C.  Tatum  of  New  York 
and  her  two  sisters  gave  us  a  Small  Quarto  Cottage  press  and  7-~> 
Ibs.  of  type,  in  order  to  issue  tracts  setting  forth  more  particular- 
Iv  those  important  points  of  Gospel  Truth  which  seemed  partially 
to  be  overlooked  by  other  churches,  among  these  Peace  Tracts 
being  particularly  necessary. 

We  at  once  issued  our  monthly  paper,  UH1  Kamo  de  Olivo," 
which  has  been  continued  to  the  present  time  with  a  constantly 
enlarging  Held  of  influence  in  the  cause  of  Christ. 

The  want  of  suitable  school  books  for  our  Mission  Schools  was 
apparent  so  soon  as  they  were  established,  which  was  early  in 


INTRODUCTORY    SKETCH.  VII 

1ST.?.  The  School  Books  issued  in  Mexico  were  intensely  Catholic, 
those  issued  in  New  York  by  business  firms  though  less  so,  all 
had  Catholic  forms  of  prayer,  whilst  those  from  Paris  were  more 
or  less  antagonistic  to  all  religion. 

We.  had  to  begin  with  A.  B.  C.  although  our  First  Reader  was 
better  adapted  to- the  word  method  than  any  other  book  which 
had  preceded  it.  We  only  hoped  to  supply  our  own  school  and  144 
copies  were  issued.  This  edition  lasted  over  two  years  and  was 
mostly  circulated  gratuitously.  Just  as  it  was  exhausted  in  1874, 
Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Missions  were  organized  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  and  our  "First  Reader"  was  called  for.  From  that 
time  to  the  present  it  has  gained  favor  until  about  1000  copies 
per  month  are  sold  to  schools  in  Mexico,  Texas  and  New  Mexico. 
It  has  been  followed  by  a  complete  series  of  reading  books,  deci- 
dedly evangelical  in  their  teaching,  and  unexpectedly  to  us  they 
have  gained  favor  in  many  public  schools  in  all  parts  of  Mexico. 

As  early  as  1875  the  Catholic  Papers  declared  our  Juvenile 
Issues  to  be  the  most  dangerous  element  they  had  to  encounter, 
and  unless  they  could  be  counteracted  the  (joining  generation 
would  entirely  abandon  Romanism. 

The  local  work  consisted  of  a  Girls'  School,  and  a  meeting  and 
Sabbath  School,  at  the  time  the  reader  is  introduced  to  the  Mis 
sion  in  this  volume,  which  gives  a  fewr  characteristic  incidents 
rather  than  a  detailed  narrative  of  the  work.  Our  work  has  grown 
up  at  the  same  time  with  the  many  other  missions  which  have 
been  opened  in  this  land  and  to  whom  we  feel  bound  as  brethren 
in  a  common  cause. 

An  inside  view  of  Mission  Work  and  particularly  that  of  the 
Friends'  Mexican  Mission  is  given  in  the  present  volume,  not 
with  any  view  to  claim  for  ourselves  any  growth  which  an  in- 
crease-giving God  has  granted  to  our  mission,  but  with  thank- 
fulness to  recognize  his  many  mercies  and  kind  providences  and 
the  fulfilment  of  his  promise,  "Lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

SAMUEL  A.  PURDIE. 
Matamoros,  December  L  1884. 
t 


THE  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  SPANISH. 

PADRE  NUESTRO. 

Padre  Nuestro  que  estas  en  los  cielos:  sea  santifi- 
cado  tu  nombre;  venga  tu  reino,  sea  hecha  tu 
voluntad,  como  en  el  cielo,  asi  tambien  en  la  tierra: 
Danos  hoy  nuestro  pan  cotidiano,  y  perd6nanos 
nuestras  deudas,  como  tambien  nosotros  perdonamos 
a  nuestros  deudores.  Y  no  nos  metas  en  tentacion, 
mas  libranos  de  mal;  porque  tuyo  es  el  reino,  y  el 
poder  y  hi  gloria  por  todos  los  siglos.  Amen. 

THE  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  AZTEC. 

IZCATQUI  IN  TOTATZINE. 
Totatzine,  inilhuicac  timetztica,  mayectenehualo 
in  motocatzin:  matohuicpa  huala  in  motlatocayotzin: 
machlhualo  in  tlalticpac  in  motlanequilitzin,  ^itfyuh 
chihualo  in  ilhuieac.  Ma  axcan  maxitechmomaquilir 
in  totlaxeal  niomoztla  ye  totech  nionequi,  ihuan 
maxitechmotlapopolhuili  in  totlatlacol,  inynhqui 
tiquin  tlapopolhuia  in  tlatlacame  tech  tlallacalhiiia  : 
yhuaii  macamo  xitech  mo  cahuili  tihuetzizque  ipan 
inteneyecoltilizpan:  mazanye  xitechmomaquixtili 
inpan  nochin  tlen  ahmo  cuali.  Mayukqui  mochihua. 

Vlll 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Comparative  position  and  privileges  of  woman  in  England,  tilt? 
United  States  and  Mexico,  illustrated  by  familiar  examples, 
including  the  Corregidora  of  Queretaro  and  la  Generala  of 
Soto  la  Marina 1 9. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Birthplace  of  Angela  Aguilar  de  Mascorro,  general  sketch  of  the 
coast  region  of  Tamaulipas,  and  the  origin  and  character  of 
its  inhabitants 11 18. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Birth  and  early  life  of  Angela  Aguilar  y  Znniga,  with  an  insight 
into  the  domestic  life  of  the  Mexicans 19 -26. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Early  religious  training.  Death  of  her  father.  Removal  to  San 
Fernando,  where  the  history  of  Father  Lozano  the  first  Mexi- 
can reformer  is  introduced  and  his  teachings  reviewed. . . , 

CHAPTER  V. 

She  is  sent  to  the  village  school.  Description  of  village  schools 
in  Mexico.  Religious  training.  Her  confirmation  and  subse- 
quent earnestness  in  the  confessional 33 39. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

A  colporteur  visits  San  Fernando.  Removal  to  Matarnoros,  and 
first  acquaintance  with  Protestantism.  Attends  otir  meeting' 
for  the  first  time 40 44. 

CHAPTER  Vli. 

Obstacles  to  be  overcome.  Attends  meeting  again.  The  speaker 
is  introduced  and  meeting  described.  Visit  of  Gulielma  M. 
Purdie  and  influence  of  a  tract... .  .45 -52. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Openly  embraces  protestantism.  Is  admitted  a  member  of 
Friends'  Society.  General  view  of  the  Mexican  Mission  in 
1875.  New  difficulties 53 57. 

IX 


\  TARLK  nl'  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTFJt    IX. 

The  <l;irk«-st  hour  before  dawn.  Becomes  an  inmate  of  tin-  mission 
family.  First  efforts  to  interest  the  children  in  Gospel  Ilynins. 
....69 <;:j. 

rilAPTKi:  X. 

Fuller  organization  of  the  native  church,  and  absence  of  their 
pastor.  How  the  meetings  were  conducted.  Darkening  poli- 
tical clouds. . .  .65 71. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Anxiety  of  Gulielma  from  both  reasons,   my  absence,    and  the 
threatening  revolution.   Arrival  home.    The  storming  of  Ma 
tamoros.    Trials  during  the  occupation  of  the  city,    until  the 
entry  of  General  Escobedo. . .  .73 80. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Occupation  of  the  city  by  Gen.  Escobedo.  Prolonged  siege,  with 
the  history  of  the  Mission  Church  during  the  summer  of  1876, 

...'.81 86. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Conversion  of  Luciano  Mascorro.  Incidents  during  the  --big 
drunk"  which  followed  the  entry  of  the  forces  of  Gen.  Corti- 

na....87 94. 

CHAPTER  XIV, 

Successful  efforts  of  Augelita  in  Mission  Work.  Controversy 
with  the  Priests.  Growth  of  the  church.  Character  and  stabil- 
ity of  the  Mexican  converts 95 99. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Preparations  for  Christmas.  Return  of  the  Flores  family.  Remark- 
able instance  connected  with  the  illness.and  death  of  Pedro 
Gonzalez.  The  marriage  of  Angelita. . .  .101 107. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Conversion  of  Julio  Gonzalez  Gea.  Recognition  of  Luciano  Mas 
corro  as  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  Visit  to  San  Fernando.  Epi- 
demic  fever.  The  admission  of  I.  Bolado.  Christmas  exerci- 
ses....^-— 113. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Journey  to  Gomez  Farias.  The  work  at  Matamoros*  Birth  of  S. 
P.  Mascorro.  Removal  to  San  Fernando.  Return  and  illness 
of  Augelita,  Death  of  their  child 115 123. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Interest  in  the  Gospel  at  Farias.    Missionary  journey  of  Luciano 
Mascorro  through  Tamaulipas.    Return  in  company  \\itli  ( 'a 
lixto  Lara.    Hindrances  to  the  permanent  occupation  of  Go- 
mez Farias.  Appeal  from  Yucatan 125 130. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTEE  XIX. 

Building  of  Friends'  Mission  Chapel.  Continued  ill  health  of  An- 
gelita. Opening  of  the  new  place  of  worship.  Removal  to 
Gomez  Farias 131 137. 

CHAPTEE  XX. 

Hurricane  at  Matamoros.  Small-pox.  W.  A.  Walls  visits  the 
Southern  Mission.  A  narrow  escape.  Flight  of  Gulielma.  W. 
A.  Walls  revisits  the  Southern  Mission 139 149. 

CHAPTEE  XXI. 

Preparations  for  my  absence.  Encarnacion  Gonzalez  and  wife 
join  our  Mission,  and  are  sent  to  Gomez  Farias.  Luciano  and 
Angelita  return  to  Matamoros.  Her  death.  Eulogy  written 
by  Calixto  Lara.  Concluding  remarks 150 154. 

CHAPTEE  XXII.- 

Sketch  of  the  Mission  from  the  death  of  Angelita  to  the  present 
time 155 160. 


POSITION  OF  PLATES  AND  MAPS. 

Portraits  of  Luciano  and  Angelita  to  face  title. 
Portraits  of  S.  A.  and  G.  M.  Purdie  to  face  Introduction. 

Map  of  Central  America  to  face  page x 

Map  of  Mexico  to  face  page xn 


THE  SPANISH   AMERICAN  MISSION   FIELD. 


Aside  from  Mexico  there  arc  in  H<']>trntri<»ntl  A  iini-im.  ;\<  the 
Spanish  Geographers  call  that  portion  between  the  llio  Grande 
and  tin-  Isthmus  of  Daricn.  live  other  republics  having  similar 
governments  to  that  of  Mexico  and  in  all  of  them  the  same  conflict 
between  Church  and  State  exists  as  in  Mexico.  In  ( iuatemala 
there  is  a  powerful  ANTI-CLERICAL  LEAGUE,  and  a  most  resolute 
opposition  to  all  clerical  influence  in  government  matters  is  every- 
where manifest.  Education  is  carried  forward  vigorously  in  all 
the  principal  cities,  the  leading  female  teachers  being  from  France 
and  tinctured  with  infidelity.  Our  papers  are  extensively  cir- 
culated in  all  these  republics  and  the  public  libraries  are  supplied 
with  complete  sets  of  our  past  volumes,  and  also  copies  of  all  our 
religious  publications. 

Costa  Hica  has  but  recently  opened  her  doors  to  the  Gospel, 
and  the  Jesuits  who  had  charge  of  education  have  been  expelled. 
Recently  the  Coditiying  Committee  of  Congress  met  and  the 
leader  thereof  said: — "We  live  in  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  in  accordance  with  its  tenor  I  refuse  to  administer 
an  oatlt  and  shall  accept  your  promise.  The  Quakers  were  allowed 
this  privilege  two  centuries  ago  and  not  a  case  of  false  evidence 
can  be  charged  against  them." 

Uegular  Mail  Steamship  lines  connect  the  northern  ports  of 
Central  America  with  Veracruz.  New  Orleans  and  St.  Thomas, 
"NV.  I.  where  connecting  lines  run  to  Panama,  and  La  (iuayra. 
Venezuela.  There  is  another  Mail  Line,  (from  San  Francisco 
to  Panama',)  carrying  Mexican  Mails  from  Acapulco,  touching  at 
all  the  Pacific  Ports. 

In  Colombia.  Chili,  Argentine  Kepublic  and  Uruguay  are  Pro- 
testant missions,  and  Dr.  Taylor's  self-sustaining  missions  exist 
in  Peru  aside  from  a  few  other  points.  Ecuador  is  now  closed 
against  Protestants,  and  in  alliance  with  the  .Jesuits  who  have 
charge  of  Public  Instruction.  Our  own  publications  are  extensive- 
ly circulated  outside  of  Protestant  Mission  circles  in  Colombia. 
Venezuela,  Uruguay,  Argentine  Republic  and  Chili,  and  a  few 
copies  in  Ecuador  during  the  dictator-ship  of  Gen.  Veintemilla. 
Ivxcept  in  Uruguay.  Argentine  Kepublic  and  Chili  the  Protestant 
missions  have  labored  with  but  little  fruit,  in  some  places  seven- 
teen years  without  a  convert,  yet  their  labor  is  not  lost,  and  the 
word  of  the  Lord  will  not  return  unto  him  void,  but  will  fulfil  its 
purpose  in  His  own  time. 


She  3Hed:terranean  Sea 


P  Shows  the  Mail-Steamship 
ligious  Books  and  papers 
Mexican  Mission  are  sent  to  the  Republics  of  Gen 
ba,  Porto  Rico  and  Hayti  as  well  as  to  the  Isthnn 
there  with  the  Mail  lines  to  the  Spanish  South  A< 
ish  geographers  give  the  name  of  Mar  de  Col< 
and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  form  a  Mediterranean 


iries  by  which  the  iie- 
sued  by  the  Friends' 
il  America  and  to  Cu- 
of  Panama  connecting 
dean  Countries.  Span- 
i  to  the  Carribean  Sea 
a  of  the  New  World. 


PRONUNCIATION  OF  SPANISH  NAMES. 


As  many  Spanish  names  occur  in  this  volume  we  will  give  a 
few  rules  for  their  pronunciation,  which  may  serve  as  fully,  if  ob- 
served, as  a  vocabulary. 

VOWEL  SOUNDS. 
A  is  always  open  Italian  a  as  in  father. 
E  always  has  the  sound  of  a  in  fate. 
I  always  sounds  like  ee  in  meet. 
O  always  sounds  like  long  o  in  pore. 
U  always  sounds  like  oo  in  boot. 
Y  when  a  vowel  sounds  like  ee  in  meet. 

NO  LETTEE  IS  EVEE  SILENT  EXCEPT  H. 

B  has  the  same  sound  as  in  English. 

C  sounds  like  1c  except  before  e  and  i  when  it  sounds  like  « in  see. 

Ch  is  a  separate  letter  and  sounds  like  ch  in  church. 

D  has  the  same  sound  as  in  English. 

F  same  sound  as  in  English. 

G  before  e  and  i  sounds  like  forcibly  aspirated  h  in  high, 
here,  but  in  all  other  places  it  has  the  hard  sound  in  English. 

H  is  always  silent. 

J  always  has  the  forcibly  aspirated  sound  of  h  as  in  house. 

Li  same  sound  as  in  English. 

Lil  is  a  separate  letter,  and  in  Spain  is  sounded  like  Hi  in 
million,  but  in  Mexico  it  is  sounded  like  y  in  yes. 

M  same  sound  as  in  English. 

N  same  sound  as  in  English. 

N  sound  like  ny  in  canyon. 

P  same  sound  as  in  English. 

Q  same  sound  as  in  English,  and  is  always  followed  by  u, 
which  is  not  sounded  before  e  unless  marked  u,  the  same  occurs 
when  u  follows  g  before  e. 

K  has  a  soft  sound,  except  when  at  the  beginning  of  a  word. 

Kr  is  a  separate  letter  and  has  a  rolled  trilling  sound,  as  r  in 
forgot  is  pronounced  by  the  Scotch  peasants,  but  a  little  more 
trilled,  and  foreigners  rarely  pronounce  it  correctly. 

S  always  sounds  soft  as  in  see. 

T,  V,  X  and  Y  have  the  same  sound  as  in  English. 

Z  in  Spain  is  sounded  like  th  in  thin  but  in  Mexico  like  *  in  see. 

EXAMPLES. 

Luciano  (loo — see — dh — IcnowJ 

Mascorro  (mahs — Jcoe — rrho) 

Motecuhzoma  (mo — tay — Tcoo — so — mah) 

Angelita  (ahn — hay — lee — tah.) 

Eevilla^Gigedo  (Ray — vee — yah — He — hay — doe. ) 

The  accent  is  on  the  last  syllable  when  ending  in  a  consonant 
and  on  the  penult  when  ending  in  a  vowel.  In  all  other  cases  the 
accent  is  marked.  xi 


A  FEW  WORDS.  ABOUT  MEXICO. 


Mexico  is  a  country  embracing  a  territory  about  equal  to  that 
portion  of  the  Cnited  Stales  lying  east  of  die  Mississippi  Hiver. 

It  is  however  broken  by  the  chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
which  diversify  it  with  fertile  valleys,  broad  table  lands,  and 
bold  rugged  and  barren  mountain  sides,  with  a  few  points  capped 
with  eternal  snow. 

It  is  a  Federal  Republic,  similar  in  plan  to  that  of  the  United 
States,  and  is  divided  into  28  States,  one  territory  and  the  Federal 
District.  On  the  accompanying  Map  the  States  of  Tlaxcalia  and 
Aguascalieiites  are  printed  in  small  letters,  as  they  are  small 
states  like  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  Tepic  has  been  decla- 
red a  state  in  the  present  year  1884. 

The  population  of  10.000.000  souls  is  chiefly  concentrated  in 
the  central  portion  of  the  Eepublic,  whilst  the  great  states  of  the 
North  West,  are  largely  desert  and  except  a  few  trading  centres 
but  sparsely  populated. 

Of  this  population  5.000.000  are  descendants  of  the  native  races, 
and  about  1.500.000  still  speak  the  native  languages,  of  which 
more  then  ten  are  still  in  use. 

The  Mexican  or  Aztec  language  is  now  taught  in  some  of  the 
Colleges  of  Puebla,  Mexico  and  Guadalajara,  and  recent  improved 
text  books,  whilst  making  the  language  accessible  to  interested 
persons,  are  contributing  to  educate  these  masses  and  thus  Span 
ish  will  soon  supplant  the  native  tongues. 

The  remaining  half  of  the  population  are  chiefly  of  the  mixed 
race  so  that  less  than  one  fifth  of  the  inhabitants  can  be  set  down 
as  of  the  Caucasian  race. 

Education  is  compulsory  in  the  cities  but  the  grade  of  study  is 
generally  very  low  and  the  teaching  very  superficial. 

Its  political  wars  have  mainly  been  upon  the  question,  Church 
and  State  v.  s.  Religious  Liberty.  The  latter  is  the  banner  of  the 
Liberal  party,  who  gained  the  power  in  1857,  being  led  by  a  pure 
descendant  of  the  Aztec  race,  Benito  Juarez.  The  "Conservative*' 
or  Church  Party  aided  by  Napoleon  III,  partially  regained  power 
under  the  transient  empire  of  Maximilian,  but  fell  completely  in 
1867. 

The  confiscation  of  Convents  and  the  suppression  of  religious 
orders,  as  well  as  the  banishment  of  the  Jesuits,  andinlsTi  of 
the  Sisters  of  Charity,  show  that  the  masses  can  never  be  recon- 
ciled to  Romanism,  and  unless  the  Gospel  is  preached  must  fall 
into  an  infidelity  as  terrible  as  that  of  the  French  Revolution  of 


The  Evangelical  School  Books  issued  by  Friends'  Mexican  Mis 
sion  aside  from  being  adopted  in  many  public  schools,  are  sold 
in  most  cities,  and  have  been  largely  useful  in  counteracting  un- 
belief and  superstition,  and  teaching  the  plan  of  Salvation 
through  Christ  as  the  one  Mediator. 

XII 


mm  mm  n 


CHAPTER  I. 

COMPARATIVE  POSITION  AND  INFLUENCE  or  WOMAN  IN 
ENGLAND,  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  MEXICO,  ILLUS- 
TRATED BY  FAMILIAR  EXAMPLES. 


i ANY  beautiful  narratives  of  Christian  lives  made 
sublime  by  acts  of  self-denial  and  obedience  to 
the  law  of  the  Lord,  have  already  been  pub- 
lished, and  not  a  few  of  the  most  interesting  of 
these  belonged  to  the  small  body  of  Christians  known 
as  the  Friends.  This  is  peculiarly  true  of  Christian 
women,  because  this  church  opened  a  wide  door  for 
the  ministry  of  females,  and  in  this  respect  as  a 
church  long  stood  alone. 

We  do  not  intend  to  censure  other  churches  for 
their  views,  from  which  we  must  candidly  differ,  but 
devoutly  thank  them  for  the  able  sisters  whom  they 
have  given  to  our  ranks,  rather  than  let  them  work 
publicly  in  their  own. 

We  believe  that  many  hearts  have  throbbed  with 
interest  as  they  have  read  the  touching  autobiogaphy 
of  Jane  Hoskens,  who,  closely  following  her  Spiritual 

i  B 


2  Womans9  Sphere  in  Mexico. 

Guide,  crossed  the  ocean  as  an  indentured  servant 
girl,  soon  after  found  herself  imprisoned  for  debt,  but 
finally  became  a  valiant  evangelist,  travelling  exten- 
sively on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  in  the 
Barbadoes,  as  minister  of  a  church  which  she  was  in 
childhood  taught  to  ridicule. 

In  the  list  of  our  martyrs  are  Catharine  Evans  and 
Sarah  Che  veer  from  whose  lips  the  voice  of  Christian 
hymns  echoed  within  the  walls  of  the  Inquisition  of 
Malta,  and  who  desired  that  the  same  "Good  News," 
in  the  sweet  language  of  song  might  be  sent  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  that  all  nations  might  "Praise  the 
Lord." 

In  the  fields  of  Christian  philanthropy  the  name  of 
Elizabeth  Fry  has  long  been  held  forth  as  a  model  of 
devotion  and  self  sacrifice,  not  only  within  the  Friends' 
Society  alone,  but  in  the  Christian  world  at  large. 

To  attempt  to  present  the  biography  of  one  who 
filled  a  very  different  sphere  of  Christian  usefulness 
and  Gospel  service,  might  seem  a  difficult  task, 
were  it  not  that  intimate  acquaintance  and  close 
spiritual  fellowship  has  made  it  a  comparatively  easy 
effort  to  the  writer. 

I  may  observe  however  that  the  sphere  of  woman's 
influence  and  labor  in  the  land  of  the  Montezumas 
has  ever  been  very  different  from  that  of  her  sisters 
in  England  and  America,  but  few  have  left  any  re- 
cord, and  most  of  these  few  records  are  the  poetic 
effusions  of  gentle  minds,  full  of  tenderness  and 
pathos,  the  distinguishing  traits  of  the  Spanish 
female. 

Perhaps  my  readers  will  pardon  a  still  further 
digression,  and  allow  me  to  cite  one  of  those  memo- 
rable examples  that  stand  out  in  bold  relief  in  the 
annals  of  Mexican  history,  and  it  will  show  the 
obstacles  which  woman  had  to  struggle  against 
during  the  three  centuries  of  Spanish  rule  in  New 
Spain,  as  Mexico  was  then  called. 


Juana  In&s  de  la  Cruz.  3 

In  the  midst  of  the  Spanish  "colonial  domination 
during  the  seventeenth  century,  in  the  midst  of  blind 
superstition  and  bigotiy,  in  a  society  ruled  by  these 
preoccupying  influences  a  bright  star  shone  forth, 
known  in  the  cloister  and  in  literary  circles  as  Sister 
Juana  Ines  de  la  Cruz.  Her  true  name  was  Juana 
Ines  de  Asbaje  y  Cantillana,  i.  e.  her  father's  sur- 
name was  Asbaje  and  her  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Cantillana,  she  was  born  in  the  village  of  San  Miguel 
Nepantla,  among  the  corrugated  folds  of  the  volcano 
of  Popocatepetl. 

When  only  three  years  of  age  she  followed  an  older 
sister  to  a  kind  of  school  known  as  "The  Friends," 
(which  was  not  a  Quaker  institution  by  any  means,) 
and  there  she  soon  learned  to  read.  Then  she  heard 
of  a  University  in  Mexico  where  the  sciences  were 
taught, i.e.  to  young  men,  and  she  continually  pleaded 
with  her  mother  to  change  her  clothing,  dress  her  as 
a  boy  and  send  her  to  the  University.  Her  mother 
had  no  inclination  to  favor  female  suffrage,  and 
denied  the  repeated  petitions  of  her  daughter. 

Notwithstanding  this  refusal,  little  Juana  took  to 
learning  like  a  duck  to  the  water,  and  as  they  said 
that  some  kinds  of  food  were  unfavorable  to  progress 
in  study,  she  refrained  her  appetite  and  refused  to 
partake  of  them.  This  was  especially  the  case  with 
cheese,  of  which  she  was  naturally  fond,  and  to  what 
extent  it  may  tend  to  rudeness  and  hinder  education 
we  leave  our  readers  to  judge  from  experience. 

Her  biographer  supposes  that  the  sight  of  that 
colossal  mountain,  an'd  the  awe  inspiring  scenery 
which  surrounded  her,  had  an  influence  in  preparing 
her  mind  for  that  poetic  susceptibility  which  has 
immortalized  her  name. 

Such  was  her  progress,  and  such  the  fame  which 
was  noised  abroad,  that  when  only  seven  years  of 
age  she  was  presented  in  the  court  of  the  Viceroy 


The  Mexican  Poetess.  5 

rand  examined  by  the  wise  men  of  the  country  to  find 
whether  her  learning  was  innate  or  acquired. 

She  was  slender,  and  her  dark  eyes  and  silken 
tresses  gave  her  such  a  beautiful  appearance  that 
the  natives  of  those  'warm  regions  compared  her,  as 
they  do  the  Virgin  Mary,  to  a  feathery  palm  waving 
in  the  gentle  breeze  of  summer. 

The  Marquis  of  Maiicera  was  at  that  time  Viceroy 
of  New  Spain,  and  in  speaking  of  this  wonderful  ex- 
amination he  says:  "As  a  royal  war  ship  would  defend 
itself  from  a  few  canoes  which  attacked  .  it,  thus  did 
Juana  Ines  resolve  the  questions,  arguments  and 
replies  that  one  by  one  were  propounded  to  her  by 
that  illustrious  company/' 

It  seemed  impossible  for  her  to  go  forward  with 
.her  studies  without  embracing  the  monastic  life,  and 
the  counsels  of  Antonio  Nuiiez,  a  famous  Jesuit 
priest  induced  her  to  adopt  that  course. 

It  was  no  small  sacrifice  for  her  to  exchange  the 
splendid  society  of  the  viceroyal  court  for  the  solitude 
of  the  monastery.  Whilst  fulfilling  the  routine  of 
nunnery  restrictions,  and  exercising  charity  toward 
the  poor  and  the  sick,  she  devoted  a  considerable 
portion  of  her  time  to  the  study  of  such  books  as  were 
-accessible,  and  thus  passed  the  earlier  years  of  her 
religious  imprisonment. 

But  the  preoccupations  of  that  dark  period,  the 
•susceptibility  of  the  theologians  and  confessors,  at 
last  reached  in  her  asylum  the  girl,  that  in  the  narrow 
bounds  of  a  Mexican  cloister,  was  eclipsing  the 
brightest  literary  stars  that  arrived  from  -Spain. 

You  must  not,  dear  reader,  suppose  that  Mexico 
was  devoid  of  literary  minds  in  that  epoch,  A  printing 
press  had  been  busily  at  work  for  a  century  in  the 
capital,  and  among  other  valuable  works  the  great 
"•'Vocabulary  of  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  languages," 
had  already  been  issued,  long  ere  any  press  had  reached 
the  English  provinces. 


6         Female  Education  Advocated. 

There  was  however  in  Mexico,  as  in  Spain  at  that 
tune,  a  saying  that  when  any  one  was  becoming 
learned;  "he  was  in  danger  of  becoming  a  Lutheran," 
that  is,  a  Protestant.  Such  were  the  fears  that  were 
entertained  about  Juana  Ines  de  la  Cruz,  and  tho 
books  were  taken  away  from  her,  and  but  limited 
opportunity  was  given  to  her  to  employ  her  pen, 
which  however  she  did  to  some  extent  in  controversial 
letters  to  celebrated  divines.  But  in  the  midst  of  this 
privation  Juana  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and  the 
physicians,  who  seem  to  have  had  some  insight  into 
her  difficulties,  prescribed  reading  and  study  as  essen- 
tial to  her  existence.  A  celebrated  sermon  of  Father 
Yieyra  had  been  published,  and  caused  great  notoriety, 
when  Juana  wrote  a  refutation  of  it,  which  was 
answered  by  another  document  from  the  Bishop  of 
Puebla,  who  considered  "the  erudition  of  Juana  as 
very  improper  for  her  sex."  Her  answer  jto  the  Bishop 
is  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  documents  which  that 
century  can  furnish  us,  written  though  it  was  by  the 
Creole  girl  of  San  Miguel  Nepantla.  She  defends 
female  education  with  rare  energy  for  a  woman  of 
that  period,  and  boldly  says:  "How  without  logic 
should  I  understand  the  general  and  special  rules  of 
composition?  How  without  rhetoric  should  I  under- 
stand the  rules,  discourses  and  figures  of  speech?  How 
without  natural  history  should  I  understand  the 
nature  of  animals  and  the  symbols  of  the  ancient 
sacrifices?  How  without  arithmetic  should  I  be  able 
to  compute  the  years,  days,  months  and  hours  of  the 
mysterious  hebdomads  of  Daniel,  and  others  which 
require  a  knowledge  of  the  nature,  concordance  and 
properties  of  numbers'?  How  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  rules  and  parts  which  constitute  History,  should 
I  understand  the  descriptions  of  sieges  in  the  Histor- 
ical Books?  And  how  without  a  legal  knowledge  shall 
I  be  able  to  understand  the  Books  of  the  Law  of 
Moses?"  After  this  noble  resume  of  the  needs  of 


Education  in  New  Spain.  7 

female  education,  she  like  every  protesting  writer, 
quotes  largely  from  the  Gospels  and  Early  Fathers 
of  the  Church  in  defense  of  woman's  position  in  the 
world  and  in  the  church. 

The  books  were  again  denied  her  by  the  Superiora 
or  Preceptress  of  the  nunnery,  and  then  she  studied 
the  nature  or  character  of  her  companions,  watched 
the  plays  of  the  children  and  made  geometrical  inves- 
tigations 011  the  lines  described  by  a  top  which  the 
children  kept  whirling  on  the  parallel  lines  of  the 
roof  of  her  cell;  observing  in  the  silence  of  the  night, 
and  the  deeper  silence  of  the  monastery,  the  inarch 
of  the  stars,  the  changes  of  morning  and  evening  twi- 
light, and  studying  the  laws  of  perspective  in  the 
movement  of  visible  objects. 

The  portrait  which  adorns  this  narrative  was 
copied  from  one  painted  by  her  own  hand,  the  origi- 
nal being  a  most  admirable  painting. 

In  the  midst  of  her  trials  from  the  privation  of 
books,  a  terrible  epidemic  made  its  appearance  in  the 
Convent  of  San  Greroiiimo,  only  one  in  ten  of  those 
attacked  surviving  its  devastating  influence,  and 
after  taking  assiduous  care  of  her  sister  nuns,  she 
was  taken  with  the  disease  and  died  on  the  17th  of 
April  1695.  She  has  been  styled  for  her  talent  the 
"Tenth.  Muse,"  and  the  "American  Phoenix,"  and  not 
only  in  Mexico  but  in  South  America  her  poems  have 
excited  universal  admiration. 

It  might  be  proper  here  to  remark  that  during  the 
colonial  administration  the  mail  facilities  between 
the  various  Spanish  provinces  of  Central  and  South 
America  were  nearly  equal  to  those  of  our  own  coun- 
try a  century  later,  and  a  unity  of  language  and 
identity  of  interest  bound  the  provinces  of  that  time 
as  strongly  together  as  the  independent  republics  are 
now  united  and  the  interchange  of  thought  aided,  by 
the  facilities  of  the  Postal  Union. 


8          Josef  a  Ortiz  de  Dominyiiez. 

Education  was  not  then  general,  nor  is  it  now,  but 
there  were  then  many  noble  minds  aspiring  to  "eman- 
cipate themselves  from  the  thrall  of  intolerance  and 
superstition,  and  since  the  independence  of  these 
governments  became  fully  established  these  minds 
have  multiplied,  the  press  has  everywhere  become  a 
moving  power  and  the  interchange  of  thought  has 
been  continually  binding  Latin  Americans,  as  they 
prefer  to  be  called,  more  and  more  closely  in  the 
bonds  of  intelligent  brotherhood,  and  these  minds 
thus  brought  into  unison  are  leavening  the  masses, 
The  new  mold  will  vary  according  to  the  elevating 
influences  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

Ere  leaving  the  subject  of  woman's  position  in 
Mexico  I  must  not  forget  that  in  a  widely  different 
and  less  yomanly  field,  in  the  sphere  of  political 
movements  and  military  achievements,  aside  from 
Dofia  Marina  the  guide  and  spy  of  Cortez,  two  names 
are  indelibly  written  on  the  pages  of  Mexican  history. 
When  a"  few  enthusiastic  minds  began  thinking  about 
the  independence  of  Mexico,  they  gathered  in  the 
parlor  of  the  Corregidor  •  of  the  city  of  Queretaro  to 
discuss  so  momentous  a  question.  This  group  consis- 
ted of  Miguel  Hidalgo  y  Castillo,  priest  of  Dolores, 
Colonels  Aldama  and  Allende,  and  the  Corregidor 
and  his  strong-minded  wife.  The  men  seemed  fearful 
of  so  daring  a  movement.  Allende  with  tropical  ardor 
urged  a  trial  of  the  plan,  Hidalgo  assured  them  that 
the  initiators  of  such  a  movement  rarely  lived  to  see 
their  ideas  achieved,  and  this  reasoning  had  well 
nigh  discouraged  the  group  when  Josefa  Ortiz  de 
Dominguez  analyzed  their  plans  and  assured  them  of 
their  ultimate  triumph.  The  plot  was  discovered  and 
among  the  first  to  suffer  imprisonment  were  the 
Corregidor  and  his  wife,  who  suffered  long  years  of 
imprisonment  ere  the  uprising  of  Iturbide  in  Iguala 
achieved  the  independence  of  Mexico  and  the  Corre- 
gidora  was  hailed  as  a  heroine  of  the  independence. 


Maria  Antonia  cle  la  Serna. 


9 


Another  name  to  be  mentioned  in  this  connection 
is  that  .of  Maria  Antonia  de  la  Serna,  wife  of  Felipe 
de  la  Garza,  known  for  her  daring  enterprises  as  la 
Genera-la.  She  was  left  a  widow  early  in  life,  with  a 
nephew,  adopted  as  a  son,  and  with  an  ample  fortune 
at  her  disposal.  She  settled  at  Soto  la  Marina,  then 
a  very  small  settlement,  and  was  united  in  marriage 
to  the  commanding  officer  of  that  port;  which  was 
incorporated  as  a  village  at  her  suggestion,  and  the 
beautiful  catholic  church  with  its  sweet-toned  bells 
was  a  gift  of  her  munificence  to  the  village.  She  once 
fitted  out  a  steamer  to  bring  military  supplies  to  her 
adopted  son,  Jesus  de  la  Seriia,  in  his  struggle  to  be- 
come governor  of  Tainaulipas;  and  was  doubtless  the 
counsellor  of  her  husband  in  the  arrest  of  Iturbide,an 
act  his  fidelity  to  his  government  required  at  his 
hand,  although  in  all  the  movement  he  showed  the 
highest  personal  appreciation  of  his  imperial  prisoner 
and  did  all  in  his  power  to  avert  from  him  the  terrible 
fate  to  which  a  decree  of  Congress  had  condemned 
the  ex-emperor. 

Leaving  then  the  sphere  of  poetic  genius  and  mili- 
tary prowess  we  will  look  at  an  humbler  but  worthier 
figure  in  Mexican  social  life. 


ANCIENT  AZTEC  WARRIORS  IN  FULL  DRESS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

BlKTHPLACE  OF  ANGELA  AGUILAE,  WITH  A  GENERAL 
SKETCH  OF  THE  COAST  EEGION  OF  TAMAULIPAS,  AND 
THE  OEIGIN  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ITS  INHABITANTS. 

;  jERHAPS  few  things  could  be  more  widely  differ- 
ent  than  the  scenery  and  personage  of  the  prece- 
K  ding  chapter  and  those  we  now  introduce  to  the 
,  attention  of  the  reader.  He  must  therefore  be 
prepared  to  come  down  in  imagination  from  the  lofty 
heights  of  Popocatepetl  to  the  flat  sandy  shores  of 
Tamaulipas,  from  the  pure  air  and  undulating  scenery 
of  the  Tierra  Templada  to  the  dense  forest  shades  and 
malarial  atmosphere  which  gird  the  banks  of  Rio  de 
la  Marina,  in  Tierra  Caliente;  from  the  w^ondrous 
poetical  genius  of  a  pure  descendant  of  Castile,  to 
the  unassuming  manners  of  a  dark-eyed  daughter 
of  the  mixed  race,  who  but  for  the  strange  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence  would  have  lived  and  died  a 
peasant  girl  or  at  most  the  wife  of  some  poor  farmer 
or  stock  raiser  in  the  wilds  of  Tamaulipas.  I  'must 
however  take  into  consideration  that  the  reader  has 
not  like  the  writer,  passed  a  decade  in  tins  Mexican 
State,  whose  scenes  however  rough  and  homely  have 
become  as  familiar  to  him  as  the  pastures  of  the  old 
homestead.  11 


Settlement  of  Tamaulipas. 

Please  place  a  map  before  you  and  you  will  find 
r  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  about  midway  between 
Matamoros  and  Tampico,  the  village  of  8oto  la 
Marina.  You  may  at  first  suppose  that  it  is  situated 
at  the  mouth  of  a  river  bearing  very  nearly  the  same 
name.  Soto  la  Marina  ( The  Marine  Forest ,)  is  situa- 
ted about  thirty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
whose  banks  are  lined  with  magnificent  forests  of 
giant  tropical  trees.  The  forests  still  abound  in  jagu- 
ars and  other  tropical  animals  and  countless  flocks 
of  parrots,  whilst  the  water  is  prolific  in  alligators  and 
the  manatee,  or  aquatic  cow.  The  hunt  of  this  latter 
animal  is  very  interesting  and  its  capture  a  day  of 
rejoicing  for  the  whole  community,  who  with  notable 
neighborly  kindness  give  freely  what  they  have  freely 
received. 

This  port  was  entered  at  a  very  early  date  by  the 
Spanish  coasting  vessels,  and  as  they  rarely  drew 
more  than  three  or  four  feet  of  water  they  found  no 
•difficulty  in  crossing  the  bar  and  ascending  the  river 
as  far  as  the  present  site  of  the  village,  which  was 
founded  about  the  year  1750  under  the  direction  of 
Colonel  Jose  de  Escandon,  the  colonizer  and  pacifier 
of  Tamaulipas. 

He  marched  through  the  country  with  trains  of 
emigrants,  leaving  a  definite  number  in  each  eligible 
site  for  a  village,  supplying  their  necessities,  leaving 
them  under  the  political  care  of  a  captain,  and  earh 
of  these  settlements  was  furnished  with  a  Catholic 
priest,  who  aside  from  the  spiritual  care  of  the 
emigrants  was  expected  to  form  a  mission  a  little  way 
from  the  village  and  if  possible  domesticate  the  Indians. 

The  native  races  to  the  southward  of  Rio  de  la 
Marina  seem  to  have  been  powerful  at  the  time  of 
the  conquest,  as  Cortez  was  defeated  at  the  pass  of 
Chile  near  the  present  site  of  Tampico  of  Tamaulipas 
by  60, 000  warriors  organized  in  this  section  as  early 
as  1521.  A  little  later  Imwevor  the  conquest  w:is 


Early  Mexican  Abolitionists.         is 

effected  and  the  only  record  of  the  ancient  greatness 
of  the  natives  consists  of  the  ruins  of  ten  cities,, 
buried  by  the  rank  vegetation,  and  lying  on  both  sides 
of  the  Tamesi  river,  and  whose  capital  was  probably 
the  city  whose  ruins  are  in  Sierra  de  la  Palma,  a  low 
chain  of  mountains  about  twenty  seven  miles  west  of 
Altamira,  a  village  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Champayan. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  violence  exercised  by 
the  conquerors,  and  the  bloody  scenes  which  marked, 
the  conquest,  we  may  be  permitted  to  state  that  some 
of  the  viceroys  were  friendly  to  the  native  races,  and 
did  all  in  their  power  to  settle  them  peacefully  in 
villages  and  encourage  them  in  the  arts  of  civilization. 

The  idea  of  enslaving  the  native  race  was  brought 
by  the  conquerors  from  Cuba,  and  perhaps  no  man 
at  that  time  was  more  conscientious  upon  that  sub- 
ject than  Cortez,  whose  will  plainly  shows  his  mis- 
givings '  upon  that  point.  Bartholomew  las  Casas,, 
bishop  of  Chiapas,  wrote  energetically  upon  this: 
subject  as  early  as  1540,  and  he  by  no  -means  stood 
alone. 

"With  respect  to  the  slaves,  natives  of  New  Spain,  alike  those 
taken  in  war  and  those  held  for  redemption,  as  there  are  many 
doubts  and  opinions  as  to  whether  these  can  he  conscientiously  so  held 
and  up  to  the  present  it  has  not  been  dettrmined;  I  command  my  son 
and  successor  Martin,  and  those  who  follow  him  in  my  estate,  that  they 
use  all  diligence  to  investigate  the  matter,  and  do  whatever  may  be 
most  convenient  for  the  full  discharge  of  my  conscience  and  their  own." 

WILL  or  CORTEZ.  ARTICLE  39. 

"I  also  command  that  as  aside  from  the  tributes  which  I  have 
received  from  my  vassals  aforesaid,  I  have  received  from  them  other 
personal  and  real  services,  and  as  there  are  diverse  opinions  as  to- 
whether  these  services  can  be  conscientiously  received,  I  order  that  due 
diligence  be  used  to  ascertain  what  services  I  may  have  received  more 
than  pertained  to  me,  and  that  pay  and  restitution  be  made  wherever 
it  appears  justly  due." — IDEM.  ARTICLE  41. 

Luis  de  Yelasco  II.  nearly  a  century  before  Penn 
made  his  treaty  with  the  Indians  under  the  elm  at 


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Treaties  of  Velasco  and  Eseandon.   15 

Shackamaxon  had  made  a  treaty  recompensing  the 
uiidomesticated  tribes  of  Central  Mexico  for  the 
occupation  of  their  territory  by  colonies  of  Tlaxca- 
lans,  who  planted  in  their  midst  the  elements  of 
civilization,  and  although  he  was  not  able  to  entirely 
obliterate  the  servitude  of  the  natives,  their  tasks 
were  fixed  by  law  as  was  also  the  salary  they  were  to 
receive,  and  it  was  forbidden  to  employ  them  in  the 
mines,  or  in  any  other  notably  severe  and  perilous 
occupation.  The  provinces  of  Zacatecas  and  San  Luis 
Potosi  were  settled  peacefully  by  this  wise  policy, 
which  almost  a  century  later  the  viceroy,  Count 
Revilla-Gigedo  endeavored  to  carry  out  in  settling  the 
province  of  Santander,  now  known  as  the  Mexican 
State  of  Tamaulipas. 

Perhaps  he  could  not  have  found  a  person  better 
fitted  for  this  task  than  Jose  de  Eseandon.  Every- 
where he  manifested  uniform  kindness  to  the  natives 
and  these  in  return  became  his  allies.  Not  far  from 
the  present  site  of  Soto  la  Marina  a  large  force  of 
Indians  approached  his  camp,  and  stationing  a  rear- 
guard advanced  to  meet  him,  carrying  a  large  supply 
of  beans,  sweet  potatoes  and  pumpkins,  which  they 
presented  him,  receiving  in  return  shawls  and  blan- 
kets. Their  chief  then  asked  for  a  gourd  of  water,  and 
washed  the  hands  of  Eseandon  and  such  of  his  com- 
panions as  he  supposed  to  be  chiefs,  and  then  taking 
from  his  own  body  the  sayal  or  native  blanket,  he 
wiped  their  hands,  giving  them  to  understand  that 
this  ceremony  was  emblematic  of  peace,  friendship 
and  alliance. 

This  friendship  was  interrupted  a  few  days  later 
because  some  natives,  perhaps  not  knowing  the  value 
of  horses,  killed  some  of  them  with  their  arrows,  one 
of  them  being  killed  in  the  pursuit  which  followed. 
This  was  however  the  only  conflict  which  Eseandon 
had-  with  the  natives  whilst  planting  the  villages  of 
the  whole  central  portion  of  Tamaulipas.  His  colonists 


ia         Settlement  of  Soto  la  Marina. 

had  received  one  hundred  dollars  in  silver  for  each 
family,  supplies  for  the  journey,  and  seeds  for  plant- 
ing, as  well  as  tools  for  farm  work,  and  peacefully 
began  to  build  their  cabins  in  the  forest. 

The  village  of  Soto  la  Marina  was  founded  by  66 
families,  having  a  total  force  of  11  soldiers  for  their 
defence,  making  in  all  289  settlers.  This  gives  us  an 
opportunity  to  see  how  far  they  considered  them- 
selves exempt  from  peril  under  the  wise  plans  devised 
for  them  by  the  viceroy,  Count  Revilla-Grigedo,  and 
earned  out  by  Escandon,- Lieutenant  Captain  General 
of  the  province. 

The  natives  were  of  peaceful .  disposition  and  Es- 
candon, judging  from*  the  general  tenor  of  Mexican 
colonies,  supposed  that  they  would  gradually  gather 
to  the  settlements  and  become  his  dutiful  subjects. 
In  this  he  was  not  disappointed,  but  one  of  his  fond 
hopes  met  with  a  reverse.  He  had  expected  to  find  the 
water  on  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  Rio  de  la  Marina  of 
sufficient  depth  for  ocean  trade.  His  schooner  "Con- 
quistadora"  had  entered  the  harbor,  but  a  minute 
examination  made  by  his  chief  engineer  Tienda  de 
Cuervo  demonstrated,  on  the  one  hand  the  shallow- 
ness  of  water,  and  011  the  other,  the  absence  of  any 
prominent  landmarks  by  which  vessels  could  recognize 
the  entrance. 

It  is  true  that  nearly  a  century  earlier  the  caravels 
which  crossed  the  ocean  could  have  entered  the  river, 
as  they  only  drew  from  three  to  five  feet  of  water, 
but  now  only  coasting  vessels  could  be  expected  to 
engage  in  commerce  with  the  newly  established  port. 
It  is  also  probable  that  Tienda  de  Cuervo  was  influ- 
enced by  the  merchants  of  Vera  Cruz  to  hinder  its 
being  opened  to  foreign  trade. 

The  rapid  increase  in  the  tonnage  of  vessels  coming 
from  Cuba  and  Spain  soon  made  it  impracticable  to 
use  Soto  la  Marina  as  a  port  for  foreign  commerce, 
and  thus  it  lost  a  great  part  of  its  importance. 


History  of  Soto  la  Marina.  17 

\ 

It  has  however  twice  been  the  scene  of  great 
political  movements  of  historic  interest. 

On  the  15th  of  April  1817  an  expedition  of  ad- 
venturers from  England  and  the  United  States,  with 
some  fugitives  from  Mexico  who  favored  the  party 
which  was  struggling  for  independence,  landed  at 
Soto  la  Marina  under  the  command  of  Francisco 
Javier  Mina,  who  had  headed  the  revolution  of  Na- 
varre, to  aid  the  insurgents . 

The  cause  they  came  to  defend  had  however  been 
almost  completely  crushed  before  they  arrived,  and 
after  repeated  defeats  Mina,  like  most  other  unfor- 
tunate revolutionists  in  Spanish  America  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sentenced  to  be  shot. 

After  the  independence  was  achieved  under  the 
direction  of  Agustin  de  Iturbide,  and  the  restless 
band  who  had  hoped  for  a  Republic  instead  of  an 
Empire  had  obliged  him  to  abdicate,  following  the 
track  of  Mina,  he  landed  at  Soto  la  Marina  on  the 
14th  of  July  1824,  and  was  immediately  informed 
that  a  decree  of  Congress  condemned  him  to  death 
so  soon  as  he  landed  in  the  country.  Yet  such  w^as 
the  confidence  which  the  military  commander  of  the 
town,  Felipe  de  la  Garza,  had  in  Iturbide,  that  he 
placed  the  troops  which  were  to  conduct  him  to  Pa- 
dilla,  capital  of  the  state,  under  his  command,  ho- 
ping that  the  state  legislature,  or  congress  as  it  is 
called  would  in  some  way  try  to  reprieve  him,  as  he 
had  brought  no  forces  with  him.  His  sentence  was 
however  confirmed  and  five  days  after  landing  at 
Soto  la  Marina,  he  was  shot  publicly  in  the  plaza  of 
Padilla,  and  his  remains  were  buried  under  the  ruins 
of  the  village  chapel,  from  whence  like  those  of  Na- 
poleon I.  they  were  marched  under  triumphal  arches 
to  the  city  of  Mexico  and  honorably  placed  among 
those  of  the  hero'es  of  independence. 

Such  is  the  mutability  of  human  greatness  and  so 
slight  the  difference  which  history  places  between 

c 


18 


Soto  la  Marina. 


a  patriot  and  a  traitor,  that  Mexican  historians  have 
scarcely  been  able  to  to  find  to  which  class  Iturbide 
belongs. 

Aside  from  these  two  disturbances  the  village  of 
Soto  la  Marina  seems  to  have  kept  the  even  tenor 
of  its  way,  with  no  very  great  abundance  of  trade 
and  with  but  little  importance  in  its  agriculture,  per- 
haps the  trade  in  fish  caught  and  salted  at  Pescade- 
ria  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  was  the  special  thing 
which  drew  traders  from  the  interior  to  this  port. 


ITZA  PICTURE   WRITINGS. 
SYMBOLIC  AND  IDEOGRAPHIC. 


MOTECUHZOMA  II.  AND  THE  COMET  OF  CHAS.  V, 

FROM   THE   AZTEC   PICTURE   WRITINGS,    DURAN'S   CODEX. 

CPIAPTER  III. 

BiKTH  AND  EAKLY  LIFE  OF  ANGELA  AGUILAE  Y  ZUNIGA, 
WITH  AN  INSIGHT  INTO  THE  DOMESTIC  LIFE  OF  THE 
MEXICANS. 

S  we  said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  when  these 
villages  were  founded,  a  mission  was  established 
near  each  of  them,  and  in  many  cases  on  the 
opposite  hank  of  the  stream  upon  which  both 
must  rely  for  a  supply  of  water.  Gradually  the  na- 
tives began  to  serve  the  settlers,  either  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  small  patches  of  corn  and  sugar-cane 
or  in  the  manual  duties  of  the  household,  they  be- 
came the  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,  re- 
ceiving in  return  a  nominal  salary,  which  was 
usually  paid  in  eatables  and  in  the  very  scanty  cloth- 
ing which  the  laborers  required.  The  laboring 
men  used  only  trowsers  and  a  broad  brimmed  hat  of 
palm  leaf  when  at  work,  yet  they  usually  tried  to 
have  a  better  holiday  suit.  In  some  villages  the  set- 
tlers became  very  wealthy  and  there  was  a  notable 
difference  between  the  liacendado  or  proprietor  and 
the  peon  or  laborer.  This  latter  class  found  them- 
selves bound  to  a  perpetual  servitude,  as  the  wages 

19 


20       The  Laboring  Class  in  Mexico. 

of  a  day  laborer  were  only  25  cents  and  often  less, 
and  when  extra  expense  was  incurred,  as  for  exam- 
ple when  money  was  borrowed  to  pay  the  priest's 
fee  for  marriage,  or  the  doctor's  fee  for  services, 
they  were  hardly  ever  able,  even  during  years  of  toil 
to  emancipate  themselves  from  the  service  of  their 
employer.  Their  salary  was  paid  by  credit  on  the 
books  and  often  a  father  died  leaving  a  debt  of  $100 
to  $200  for  his  children  to  cancel  by  servitude. 

There  was  however  quite  a  numerous  class  of  the 
poorer  descendants  of  the  settlers,  and  intermarriages 
between  these  and  the  natives  became  frequent  until 
the  process  of  amalgamation  became  quite  general. 

Indeed  the  settlers  who  came  from  the  interior  had 
already  an  admixture  of  Aztec  and  Tlascalan  blood 
in  their  veins,  for  many  of  those  families  stood  high 
in  social  life.  When  these  mixed  people  testified  in 
the  courts  the  judge  was  obliged  to  record  whether 
they  were  whites  or  Indians,  and  in  doubtful  cases 
would  say,  "Se  tiene  por  bianco"  i.  e.  "He  considers 
himself  a  white  man." 

At  Soto  la  Marina  both  settlers  and  natives  had 
to  struggle  with  hard  times  and  thus,  except  a  few 
very  wealthy  families,  the  distinctions  of  caste  began 
to  fade  away. 

The  change  of  laws  in  1857  under  the  Liberal 
G-overnment  made  provisions  to  emancipate  the 
laboring  class  from  perpetual  servitude,  only  allow- 
ing one  month  of  advance  wages  to  be  paid  to  a 
servant  except  at  the  risk  of  his  employer.  This  law 
in  many  places  is  a  dead  letter,  carefully  .concealed 
from  the  working  class,  and  practically  ignored  by 
crafty  judges. 

As  in  most  other  Mexican  villages  along  the  coast, 
there  are  three  distinct  kinds  of  houses  in  general 
use  in  Soto  la  Marina,  the  wealthier  class  having 
stone  houses  with  flat  roofs  made  of  heavy  planking 
covered  with  tejas,  formerly  written  texas,  a  kind  of 


Mexican  Houses.  21 

flat  tile  brick  about  seven  inches  square  and  one 
inch  thick,  three  courses  of  which  are  laid  on  an 
inclined  floor  like  roof,  in  a  strong  cement,  which 
when  dry  becomes  impervious  to  water.  These  flat 
roofs,  as  we  may  call  them,  are  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  a  strong  wall,  making  as  they  complete  the 
buildings  on  all  sides  of  a  block  a  regular  fortress,  the 
yards  being  in  the  open  court  back  of  the  houses, 
forming  a  general  rendezvous  in  most  cases  for  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  block.  Some  of  these  inner 
yards  have  beautiful  flowers,  orange  trees  and  other 
choice  plants,  which  are  hid  entirely  from  the  passer 
by,  as  the  houses  are  built  on  a  line  with  the  side- 
walk, with  doors  opening  to  the  street.  The  second 
class  of  houses  have  the  walls  made  of  adobes,  or  sun 
dried  bricks,  which  are  much  larger  than  our  bricks, 
and  the  roofs  are  made  of  poles  lashed  together  with 
thongs,  or  the  strong  fibre  of  the  maguey  or  century 
plant,  and  thatched  with  palm  leaves,  or  swamp 
grass.  The  dry  flower-stalks  of  the  century  plant  are 
used  for  rafters  wherever  the  plant  abounds,  especial- 
ly at  the  neighoring  village  of  Jimenez. 

The  third  class  have  the  same  kind  of  roof,  but 
the  walls  instead  of  being  of  adobes  are  made  of  cross 
poles  tied  to  upright  forks,  when  small  bundles  of 
reeds  are  tied  in  an  upright  position  to  the  cross- 
poling,  and  the  whole  is  plastered  outside  and  inside 
with  strong  adobe  mortar.  This  mortar  is  prepared 
by  making  a  firm  mud  from  a  strong  clayey  earth, 
and  mixing  in  dried  grass  chopped  about  two  inches 
in  length,  supplying  the  place  of  hair  in  our  plaster- 
ing. The  stone  buildings  have  a  floor  of  hard  cement, 
the  adobe  houses  sometimes  have  them  of  brick  but 
most  of  these,  like  the  third  class,  known  as  guano 
houses  have  only  the  earth  for  a  floor. 

In  one  of  the  houses  of  the  first  class  lived  a  fam- 
ily by  the  name  of  Zufiiga,  who  were  owners  of  the 
house  and  lot,  but  had  little  else  of  earthly  goods. 


22  Early  Life  of  Angelita. 

In  this  humble  home  the  mother  died  when  giving 
birth  to  a  daughter,  which  was  at  once  placed  in 
charge  of  her  god-mother,  Maria  Antonia  de  la  Serna, 
by  whom,  with  other  orphan  children  she  was  reared, 
yet  she  retained  her  proper  name  Francisca  Zuiiiga. 

As  her  foster  daughters  grew  up  she  had  no  small 
trouble  to  prevent  their  receiving  visits  froin  the 
young  men  of  the  village,  and  thus  it  was  with 
great  secrecy  and  slyness  that  they  were  able  to 
send  letters  and  receive  replies  from  their  sweet 
hearts.  Several  times  the  mother  surprised  her  daugh- 
ter Francisca  at  the  little  gate  of  their  yard,  opening 
to  the  street,  talking  with  a  young  man  whose  large 
black  eyes  had  an  almost  fascinating  power  over 
those  with  whom  he  associated.  Very  naturally  mam- 
ma did  not  like  to  see  them,  talking  thus  slyly  and 
gave  her  daughter  a  sound  thrashing,  and  tried  to 
let  the  young  pretender  understand  that  his  absence 
was  more  welcome  than  his  presence. 

The  young  man  was  a  day  laborer,  with  no  earthly 
goods,  and  more  than  that,  he  was  a  widower  wTith  a 
little  daughter  to  care  for.  The  mother  was  inflexi- 
ble, the  daughter  equally  so,  and  the  young  man  was 
determined  to  gain  if  possible  and  it  seemed  as  though 
the  judge  would  have  to  be  called  on  to  set  aside  the 
maternal  authority,  as  under  certain  circumstances 
they  are  empowered  to  do,  but  finally  the  opposition 
gave  way  and  the  marriage  was  effected.  For  a  little' 
while  young  Aguilar  and  his  wife  lived  in  one  room 
of  the  stone  building  which  had  been  her  home,  but 
a  guano  house  with  a1  palm  leaf  roof  was  soon  ready 
and  thither  the  young  couple  removed.  In  this  hum- 
ble structure  their  first  daughter  was  born  August 
2d  1858,  and  when  she  was  but  a  few  weeks  old  her 
pious  parents  took  her  to  the  parish  church  where 
she  was  baptized  as  Angela  and  as  she  had  a  right  to- 
both  paternal  and  maternal  surnames,  her  true  name1 
was  Angela  Aguilar  y  Zuniga,  But  as  we  are  to> 


Early  Life  of  Angelita.  23 

know  that  she  was  a  pet,  her  pet  name  takes  the 
diminutive  ita  and  we  shall  for  some  years .  call  her 
Angelita. 

Although  she  was  the  pet,  the  poverty  of  her 
father  scarcely  ever  allowed  them  any  spare  change 
for  buying  oranges  or  candy,  and  the  neighbor  who 
chanced  to  give  her  either  was  looked  upon  as  a 
real  benefactor,  both  by  her  and  by  her  doting  pa- 
rents. 

Judging  from  analogy  we  may  suppose  that  after 
being  emancipated  from  the  swaddling  clothes  of  in- 
fancy, except  a  holiday  attire,  which  was  usually  kept 
carefully  laid  away,  she  was  not  much  encumbered 
with  clothing  during  the  week,  yet  on  the  Sabbath 
morning  she  was  clothed  ready  to  go  to  the  church, 
dip  her  tiny  hand  in  the  font  of  holy  water  and  make 
the  sign  of  the  cross  on  her  forehead. 

She  was  also  taught  two  prayers  to  the  Virgin  Ma- 
ry and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  she  was  taught  to 
repeat  thus,  the  Lord's  Prayer  once  and  the  prayers  to 
the  Virgin  each  five  times,  and  when  she  went  to  the 
parish  church  the  whole  service  was  a  repetition  of 
the  same  prayers,  in  the  same  relative  proportion,  the 
priest  leading,  and  the  worshippers,  who  were  all 
kneeling  on  the  floor,  following  in  a  low  voice  the 
continual  recital'of  the  same  prayers.  A  few  pictures 
of  the  Saints  were  purchased,  and  sprinkled  with 
holy  water  by  the  priest  for  the  small  sum  of  twenty 
five  cents  each,  and  one  corner  of  their  humble  cabin 
was  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  altar  before 
which  they  could  kneel  to  count  beads  and  say  pray- 
ers. Some  small  printed  prayers  or  amulets  were 
also  purchased  from  the  priest,  as  preventatives  of 
certain  diseases  as  well  as  remedies  for  many  of  the 
evils  flesh  is  heir  to.  This  was  all  the  more  necessary 
as  there  was  no  regular  drug  store  in  the  village  and 
patent  medicines  had  not  begun  to  compete  with 
prayers  and  amulets  in  public  favor. 


24 


Early  Life  of  Attycltta. 


Otherwise  we  have  few  particulars  about  the 
early  life  of  Angelita.  We  can  however  very  readily 
imagine  how  she  played  with  the  other  little  girls  of 
the  village,  how  they  would  go  down  to  the  river 

and  bathe  in  the  flowing 
stream,  and  then  sit  on 
the  bank  to  admire  the 
bright  green  parrots 
with  their  golden  heads 
and  bright  red  epaulets 
on  their  -wings,  .  and 
listen  to  their  terrific  cla- 
mor. It  may  often  have 
been  her  lot  to  watch  the 
little  patch  of  corn  her 
father  was  cultivating 
and  scare  the  parrots 
away  as  children  do  the 
crows  in  more  northern 
latitudes. 

Her  parents  were  all 
the  time  struggling  with 
poverty,  and  it  was  final- 
ly decided  that  as  labor 
was  so  very  scarce  they 
must  move  out  to  some 
ranch  where  labor  was 
better  requited  and  the 
cost  of  living  would  be 
less.  They  accordingly 
earned  out  this  plan.  It 
was  in  some  respects  quite  a  disagreeable  change  to 
Angelita.  She  had  to  leave  her  old  playmates  and  the 
gayer  life  of  the  village,  for  the  more  isolated  life  of 
the  Mexican  ranch.  Quite  a  change  now  took  place 
in  her  outward  appearance,  she  wore  a  long  dress, 
reaching  to  her  ankles,  and  when  sitting  carefully 
threw  it  over  her  feet,  and  was  soon  taught  to  laugh 


MKXICAX  H  ASCII  LIFE. 

VOMAX   CARRYING  AVATER. 


Mexican  Ranch  Life.  25 

about  the  short  dresses  and  pantelets  of  the  village 
girls,  who  were  so  earnest  about  having  shoes  on 
their  feet  when  walking  on  the  street,  or  going  to  the 
chapel.  There  was  an  abundance  of  milk,  and  plenty 
of  cheese,  and  as  she  had  no  educational  opportuni- 
ties she  was  not  taught  to  abstain  from  the  latter. 

Here  as  in  the  village  however  the  forty  days  of 
Lent  must  be  carefully  observed,  and  during  this 
time  they  must  eat  plenty  of  greens,  especially  the 
tender  shoots  of  the  prickly  pear,  (cactus,)  and  limit 
their. meat  to  fish  only. 

These  was  an  abundance  of  wild  honey,  known  as 
the  panal  or  comb,  found  in  nests  on  the  limbs  of  the 
trees  much  like  the  nests  of  our  wasps.  She  was 
taught  sedulously  to  avoid  the  tarantulas,  a  very 
large  and  venomous  spider,  the  scorpions  and  rattle- 
snakes, and  very  frequently  suffered  severely  from  the 
stings  of  the  red  ants,  which  are  as  painful  as  those 
of  the  scorpion.  Our  readers  may  not  be  aware  that  the 
ant  is  very  nearly  allied  to  the  bee,  that  some  ants 
make  honey,  and  that  being  very  aromatic,  some 
varieties  of  the  ant  are  dried  and  pounded  into  a 
paste  which  is  sold  as  a  sweet  meat  in  most  parts  of 
South  America,  though  not  known  in  this  part  of 
Mexico.  By  simply  tasting  an  ant  you  will  become 
assured  of  their  virtues  as  edible  food,  and  we  learn 
that  the  children  of  Americans  living  in  South  Ame- 
rica are  excessively  fond  of  ant  paste. 

However  we  must  not  let  our  readers  suppose  that 
such  was  the  food  of  Angelita.  Her  principal  food, 
like  that  of  the  poorer  class  in  Mexico  consisted  sim- 
ply of  tortillas  s&d.  frijoles,  or  slap-jacks  and  beans. 
Corn  for  making  tortillas  is  first  boiled  in  lime-water, 
so  that  the  hull  can  readily  be  removed,  it  is  then 
ground  on  an  inclined  stone  with  a  square  hand  piece, 
tapering  toward  either  end,  each  of  the  four  sides 
of  which  are  of  a  different  fineness.  Whilst  the  pro- 
cess of  grinding  progresses  water  is  occasionally 


26  Mexican  Home  Life. 

thrown  on  and  the  corn  instead  of  being  ground 
into  meal  is  at  once  reduced  to  dough  of  the  right 
consistency  which  is  slapped  out  into  thin  cakes  and 
hastily  cooked  on  a  thin  piece  of  iron  or  pottery 
ware,  usually  set  on  some  thin  pieces  of  brick,  so  as 
to  leave  room  for  the  coals  underneath. 

The  bean  soup  is  usually  served  in  a  saucer,  a  folded 
piece  of  tortilla  serving  as  a  spoon,  which  so  soon 
as  it  becomes  moistened  is  swallowed  and  another 
spoon  manufactured.  Butter  is  not  extensively  made 
so  that  when  any  sauce  is  used  on  the  tortillas  it  is 
made  of  red  pepper  pods  fried  in  lard,  the  very  best 
being  made  of  red  and  cayenne  pepper  pods  fried  in 
lard  and  seasoned  with  onions  and  Dutch  cheese, 
made  from  sour  milk. 

In  the  villages  knives,  forks  and  spoons  are  quite 
generally  used  by  the  well-to-do  residents.  Ranch  peo^ 
pie  occasionally  kill  beef  cattle;  and  deer,  antelopes, 
rabbits,  hares  and  other  wild  game  are  very  abundant, 
the  wild  hog  and  the  armadillo  being  considered  as 
delicacies. 


MEXICAN  ORANGE  GIRL. 


EARLY  EELIGIOUS  TRAINING.  DEATH  OF  HEK 
REMOVAL  TO  SAN  FERNANDO,  WHERE  THE  HISTORY 
OF  FATHER  LOZANO  .THE  FIRST  MEXICAN  REFORMER 
IS  INTRODUCED  AND  HIS  TEACHINGS  REVIEWED. 

•M  HEIR  residence  in  the  hacienda  was  of  several 
|||  years  duration,  but  was  terminated  by  a  sad  be- 
*$  reavement;  the  death  of  her  father.  Her  mother 
found  herself  obliged  to  take  full  charge  of  the 
two  daughters,  and  three  months  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  gave  birth  to  a  son.  She  could  not  well 
find  work  on  the  farm,  and  the  experience  of  her 
friends  induced  her  to  try  to  get  a  place  as  house-ser- 
vant in  a  village.  She  accordingly  removed  to  the  vill- 
age of  San  Fernando,  which  stands  on  a  bluff,  on 
the  bank  of  Rio  de  Conchas,  ordinarily  a  small 
stream,  but  in  the  wet  season  becoming  Very  formi- 
dable. It  was  not  difficult  for  Angelita,  who  was1 
now  quite  a  girl,  to  accommodate  herself  to  village 
life,  and  as  she  could  attend  the  services  of  the 
parish  church,  her  former  religious  earnestness  was1 
renewed,  and  she  became  well  known  for  her  devo- 
tional nature,  the  pet  of  the  pious  women  of  the 
village  from  whon  she  received  many  kindnesses. 

Her  mother  was  house  servant  for  a  widower,  who 
had  a  child  to  care  for,  and  although  he  did  not 
hinder  their  attending  the  services,  he  did  not  parti- 

27 


28  ratltcr  n<nnon  Lozano. 

cipate  in  their  religious  zeal.  He  had  been  for  seve- 
ral years  in  care  of  his  uncle,  who  was  for  some  tinn* 
Driest  of  the  village,  arid  under  whose  direction  the 
parish  church  was  built,  as  an  inscribed  tablet  in- 
forms the  passer  by.  A  like  tablet  over  the  entrance 
to  the  cemetery  tells  us  that  its  beautiful  ornamented 
wall  was  also  one  of  the  improvements  earned  out 
during  the  curacy  of  Father  Lozano.  The  promulga- 
tion of  the  Reform  Laws  of  1857  had  awakened  the 
naturally  earnest  mind  of  this  priest  and  as  he  inher- 
ited a  large  library  of  theological  books  from  a  rela- 
tive who  was  a  priest,  he  began  studying  the  New 
Testament,  following  the  Catholic  version  of  Father 
Scio,  in  order  to  see  whether  a  Liberal  could  be  a 
Christian.  The  reader  must  understand  that  the  Cath- 
olic Bishops  were  denouncing  the  Liberal  Govern- 
ment as  an  ungodly  institution,  and  fulminating 
their  anathemas  against  its  leaders.  When  the  father 
of  the  aforementioned  widower  died  in  Victoria,  cap- 
ital of  the  State,  it  being  known  that  he  was  a  Lib- 
eral the  Bishop  refused  to  allow  the  church  bell  to 
be  rung  for  his  burial,  or  even  admit-  the  corpse  in- 
side the  church  edifice.  Thus  Father  Lozano  began 
studying  to  see  whether  his  relatives  who  served  the 
Liberal  Government  must  be  refused  like  favors  at 
his  hand.  He  found  to  his  surprise  that  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Apostles  as  recorded 
in  the  New  Testament  were  as  different  from  those 
taught  by  the  Romish  Church  as  light  is  from  dark- 
ness. As  he  continued  reading  it  seemed  as  though 
he  found  prophecies  of  and  warnings  against  those 
very  doctrines  and  practices  which  were  the  distin- 
guishing features  of  his  church,  and  those  veiy  pro- 
tests of  the  Liberal  Parti/  seemed  to  be  the  echoes  of 
the  early  teachers  of  Christianity  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places.  There  were  special  rea- 
sons why  the  question  of  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy 
should  occupy  his  attention,  because  their  irregular 


Errors  of  The  RomisJi  Church.       29 

conduct  and  the  abuse  made  of  the  confessional  for 
the  seduction  of  young  girls,  which  had  awakened 
energetic  protests  from  the  Liberals,  were  creating 
great  sensation.  He  had  read  the  new  law  opening 
the  way  for  priests  to  legitimize  their  children,  usual- 
ly known  as  their  nephews  and  nieces,  and  as  he  was 
desirous  of  doing  so  himself,  he  made  a  special  study 
of  this  matter. 

As  he  was  reading  I.  Tim.  4:  3,  he  saw  that  "For- 
bidding to  many,  and  commanding  to  abstain  from 
meats,"  was  a  sure  test  whereby  he  might  know  the 
apostate  church,  from  the  true  church.  The  illusions 
of  a  life-time  vanished  in  a  moment.  His  long  fast- 
ings had  been  utterly  unavailing.  God  was  looking 
for  a  clean  heart  and  not  an  empty  stomach.  As  he 
read  the  qualifications  of  a  Bishop,  and  found  that 
"to  be  husband  of  one  wife"  and  to  "have  his  family 
in  subjection,"  were  desirable  evidences  of  fitness 
for  the  station,  whilst  he  had  supposed  celibacy  an 
indispensable  requisite,  he  was  still  more  inclined 
to  fear  that  he  was  a  minister  of  the  church  of 
Antichrist.  It  seemed  to  him  that  a  Liberal  could  be 
a  New  Testament  Christian  and  that  a  reformation 
of  the  Church  was  necessary;  for  he  had  reason  to 
believe  that  others  like  himself  were  seeking  to  know 
the  true  basis  of  Christianity,  and  would  accept  the 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  so  soon  as  they 
heard  its  teachings.  The  early  steps  of  his  alienation 
from  Romanism  had  been  noted  by  the  other  priests 
and  had  led  to  his  removal  to  the  curacy  of  Santa 
Barbara,  a  very  unhealthy  location  and  where  his 
enemies  hoped  that  disease  might  cut  short  his 
existence.  However  his  health  improved  considerably 
by  the  change,  whilst  his  wealth  enabled  him  to  fur- 
nish the  poor  people  with  rice  and  other  grains  for 
sowing  their  crops,  charging  a  lighter  rate  of  pre- 
mium w^hen  the  crop  was  gathered  than  the  weal- 
thy residents  were  accustomed  to  do.  His  philantropy 


30       Teachings  of  father  Lozano. 

soon  gained  the  hearts  of  his  parishioners  and  they 
were  ready  to  listen  to  his  counsels  and  looked  up 
to  him  with  more  than  the  usual  reverence  which 
xthey  felt  toward  their  "Father"  as  you  may  remem- 
ber that  Roman  Catholics  call  their  priests,  although 
it  be  expressly  forbidden  in  the  New  Testament. 

He  soon  after  made  an  application  to  the  State 
Congress  in  order  to  legitimize  his  children,  and 
although  proceeding  according  to  the  provision  of  the 
law,  he  was  cast  into  prison  by  order  of  Governor 
Sema,  where  he  was  kept  for  several  months.  The 
next  session  of  congress  was  held  by  new  delegates 
and  after  a  very  animated  discussion  his  petition  was 
granted,  and  he  obtained  his  liberty. 

He  was  well  aware  that  this  step  would  bring 
upon  him  the  censures  of  the  Bishop  and  perhaps 
excommunication,  and  he  at  once  prepared  for  the 
struggle  by  spending  some  months  in  his  largest  ha- 
cienda, occupied  closely  withthe  New  Testament,  and 
in  preparing  a  brief  resume  of  its  teachings,  which 
he  published  under  the  title  of  "El  Saeerdote  Evange- 
lico,"  or  "The  Evangelical  Priest."  This  book  was 
publicly  ratified  by  his  congregation,  so  that  the 
Bishop  found  that  he  had  not  to  deal  with  a  single 
heretic,  but  with  a  seceding  congregation.  When  his 
envoys  came  to  read  the  excommunication  from  the 
pulpit,  they  found  the  door  closed,  and  the  whole 
town  so  excited  that  they  could  only  fulfil  their  mis- 
sion by  pasting  the  excommunication  on  the  doors 
of  the  church  from  whence  it  was  soon  torn 
down  by  the  indignant  residents.  So  great  was  the 
the  excitement  that  the  Mayor  fearing  that  some 
danger  might  await  the  envoys.,  took  them  into 
custody  and  sent  them  to  Tampico  as  disturbers  of 
the  public  peace.  It  is  probable  that  blood  would 
have  been  shed  had  not  Father  Lozauo  addressed  the 
people  explaining  to  them  the  peaceable  nature  of  the 
Gospel,  and  that  as  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  of 


Teachings  of  Father  Lozano.       31 

this  world,  therefore  his  servants  are  not  to  advance 
it  by  carnal  weapons. 

There  are  several  points  in  which  Father  Lozano 
held  views  very  similar  to  those  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  for  aside  from  his  peace  principles  h£  was 
opposed  to  oaths  which  had  recently  been  forbidden 
in  courts  of  law  by  the  Liberal  Government. 

He  says;  "We  hold  that  the  oath  has  been  justly 
omitted  in  the  formulas   of  the    Mexican  Govern- 
ment, and  is  discarded  by  the  Mexican  Church,  inV 
accordance  with  the  Apostolic  doctrines." 

The  humility  of  his  closing  words,  in  bold  contrast 
with  the  dogmatism  of  most  Reformers,  merits  our 
attention.  "My  doctrines,  fallible  because  they  are 
set  forth  by  a  man  of  limited  capacity,  admit  as  many 
reforms  and  observations  as  may  be  made  upon  them 
with  the  Gospels  and  Nature  before  you,  for  these 
are  the  only  books  which  express  the  certain  will  of 
God,  and  the  positive  truth  of  all  things,  where  man 
must  seek  them  if  he  aspire  to  know  them.  Whilst 
these  observations  are  being  examined,  I  would  again 
ask  the  indulgence  of  my  readers,  and  incite  the  ven- 
erable Mexican  clergy  to  cast  aside  all  preoccupation 
and  partiality  and  retracing  their  steps,  cease  to 
be  the  executioners  of  their  fold,  and  embracing  first 
the  .Reform,  incline  the  people  to  do  the  same,  as  it 
is  the  only  thing  which  can  save  the  dignity  and  lib- 
erty of  mankind,  and  can  alone  make  them  a  truly 
Christian  clergy,  the  only  principles  to  which  are 
promised  the  peace  and  civilization  of  the  world, 
which  God  has  entrusted  to  the  probity,  integrity, 
intelligence  and  fidelity  of  his  ministers,  when  he 
commanded  them  to  preach  his  evangelical  doctrine s\ 
of  reconciliation,  peace  and  universal  love." 


CHAPTER  V. 

SHE  IS  SENT  TO  THE  VILLAGE  SCHOOL.  DESCRIPTION 
OF  VILLAGE  SCHOOLS  IN  MEXICO.  RELIGIOUS  TRAIN- 
ING. HER  CONFIRMATION  AND  SUBSEQUENT  EARNEST- 
NESS IN  THE  CONFESSIONAL. 

;OTWITHSTANDING  the  favorable  circumstan- 
ces which  had  led  B S to  imbibe  Prot- 
estant principles;  he  does  not  seem  to  have  in 
any  way  tried  to  instil  them  into  the  minds  of 
the  widow  and  three  little  ones  now  placed  by  so 
singular  a  providence  under  his  roof. 

Francisca  Zuniga  appears  to  have  occupied  herself 
almost  exclusively  in  the  domestic  cares  of  the  house- 
hold of  B S and  had  but  little  time  to  care 

for  her  own  children,  but  had  the  pleasure  of  their 
company.  Angelita  was  now  a  robust  girl  of  about  a 
dozen  summers,  and  spent  the  week  days  in  the  vil- 
lage free  School.  By  the  way  Mexico  has  a  system 
of  Free  Schools,  and  compulsory  education  is  en- 
forced in  most  of  the  cities.  The  elementary  branches 
and  embroidery  of  various  kinds  are  taught,  also 
worsted  figure  work  on  perforated  paper.  A  text  book 
on  "Urbanity"  or  "Good  Manners"  is  considered  in- 
dispensable and  forms  the  basis  of  that  courtesy  and 
politeness  so  noticeable  in  Mexican  society. 

The  Lancasterian  system  is  generally  used,  the 
teachers  appointing  a  monitor  for  each  class,  who 
listens  with  a  cautious  ear  to  the  loud  study  of  his 
pupils,  for  all  study  quite  loudly;  and  several  long 
benches  arranged  around  the  sides  of  the  room  pre- 
33  D 


34  Mexican  Free  Schools. 

sent  a  decided  analogy  with  several  Sabbath  School 
classes  in  active  recitation  in  a  small  chapel  in  our 
own  country.  A  foreigner  would  at  once  suppose  that 
the  noise  would  make  study  impossible.  This  is  not 
the  case  however,  for  they  become  so  accustomed  to 
it  that  the  monitor  will  readily  note  an  error  in  pro- 
nunciation by  any  one  of  his  class  and  at  once  re- 
cognizes the  voice  of  the  one  who  made  the  mistake 
and  calls  him  to  order,  just  as  readily  as  a  weaving 
girl  in  our  factories  recognizes  which  one  of  her 
looms  has  a  broken  thread  and  stops  it  in  order  to 
repair  it. 

Silent  study  has  been  introduced  in  some  places, 
but  by  far  the  most  general  method  is  as  above  des- 
cribed. Our  little  Angelita  made  fair  progress  in  the 
elementary  branches,  but  the  brevity  of  their  resi- 
dence in  that  village  and  want  of  educational  facil- 
ities in  the  ranch  where  she  had  spent  her  childhood 
prevented  her  acquiring  more  than  the  elementary 
branches. 

The  widow  of  the  owner  of  the  ranch  where  they 
had  lived  before  coming  to  San  Fernando  appears  to 
have  moved  to  the  village  soon  after  they  did  and 
she  became  the  madrina  or  spiritual  mother  of  An- 
gelita, and  being  a  very  devoted  Catholic  took  her 
little  charge  to  Mass  every  Sabbath  morning.  The  re- 
collections of  the  religious  exercises  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  see  in  Soto  la  Marina  were  now  revived. 
Besides  this  San  Fernando  was  a  more  aristocratic 
village,  with  a  very  strong  predominance  of  pure 
Spanish  blood,  and  much  more  religious,  if  we  may 
give  this  name  to  such  superstitious  Romanism  as 
was  there  in  vogue.  Aside  from  the  name  of  "Pres- 
byter Ramon  Lozano"  on  the  front  of  the  Catholic 
Church  and  over  the  gateway  of  the  cemetery,  no- 
thing of  his  doctrines  seems  to  have  remained  in  the 
place.  Thus  Angelita,  became  a  zealous  Catholic, 
was  always  to  be  seen  at  Mass,  repeating  the  pre- 


Roman  CatJiolic  Prayers.  35 

scribed  number  of  prayers  to  the  Virgin  Mary    with 
one  Lord's  Prayer  for  every  ten  of  these. 

Having  been  confirmed  she  must  now  begin  to 
confess  regularly  to  the  village  priest,  and  she  care- 
fully watched  every  thought  and  action  so  as  to  give 
an  accurate  account  of  every  sin  in  thought,  word 
or  deed. 

Besides  the  numerous  fasts  prescribed  by  the 
church  she  found  it  necessary  to  impose  upon  herself 
extra  ones  in  order  to  have  money  to  give  her  confes- 
sor every  time  she  received  absolution  for  past  sins, 
thus  she  began  that  peculiar  course  of  abnegation 
which  won  for  her  a  distinguished  place  in  the  Cath- 
olic circles  of  San  Fernando  and  Matamoros.  You 
must  bear  in  mind  that  she  had  not  as  yet  listened 
to  a  sermon  or  exposition  of  Gospel  Truth.  In  Mex- 
ico so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  there  \ 
is  no  preaching  in  the  Catholic  Churches  except 
where  Protestant  churches  have  heen  organized;  nor 
are  there  any  seats,  but  the  whole  audience,  almost 
exclusively  women,  kneel  on  the  floor  and  repeat  in 
concert  with  the  priest  "Salves"  and  "Ave  Marias" 
to  the  Virgen  and  either  one  Lord's  Prayer  after  each 
five  or  after  each  ten  prayers  to  the  Most  Holy 
Mary. 

The  favorite  prayer  in  all  Spanish  American  coun- 
tries is  the  "Ave  Maria"  or  "Hail  Mary,"  and  is  as 
follows: — "Dios  te  Salve  Maria  llena  eres  de  gracia, 
el  Senor  es  contigo,  bendita  tu  entre  las  mugeres,  y 
beiidito  el  Fruto  de  tu  vientre  Jesus.  Santa  Maria, 
Madre  de  Dios,  ruega  por  nosotros  pecadores,  ahora 
y  en  la  &hora  de  nuestra  muerte,  Amen  Jesus."  This 
may  be  literally  translated  thus: — (rod  save  thee 
Mary  full  of  grace,  the  Lord  is  with  thee,  blessed 
art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  Fruit  of 
thy  Womb  Jesus.  Holy  Mary  Mother  of  God,  pray 
for  us  sinners,  now  and  in  the  hour  of  our  death 
Amen  4esus."  I  have  carefully  retained  the  punc- 


36       Roman  Catholicism  in  Mexico. 

tuation  and  capitals  as  used  in  their  prayer    books, 
though  not  adopting  either  as  grammatical. 

The  "Ave  Maria"  or  "angelical  salulation"  came  to 
be  used  as  an  almost  universal  salutation  when 
speaking  to  any  one  who  is  so  busily  occupied  as  not 
to  notice  you,  or  when  trying  to  call  at  the  door  or 
gateway  of  a  ranch  to  ask  for  lodgings  or  inquire  the 
way. 

The  introduction  of  Protestant  Chrsitianity  gave 
rise  to  an  amusing  incident.  My  reader  will  consider 
that  "Ave"  means  bird  in  Spanish  and  this  gave 
place  to  a  little  play  on  words. 

Two  men  were  travelling  along  when  calling  at  a 
ranch  the  Romanist  called  out  as  usual  at  the  top  of 
his  voice  "Ave  Maria,"  when  the  other  answered 
"Maria  no  fue  gallina,"  "Mary  was  not  a  hen,"  i,  e. 
Mary  was  not  a  bird. 

The  Salve  is  a  longer  form  of  prayer  to  the  Virgin 
and  is  next  in  popularity  to  the  Ave  Maria. 

Angelita  soon  had  all  these  prayers  so  fixed  in  her 
mind  that  she  could  repeat  them  hour  after  hour  as 
she  knelt  before  some  picture  of  the  Virgin,  and 
great  was  her  confidence  in  Mary  as  "Advocate  of 
sinners,"  the  "True  Mediator"  and  many  similar 
terms  which  Romanists  apply  to  her,  often  neglect- 
ing to  bestow  them  upon  Jesus  Christ,  not  so  much 
from  any  intentional  effort  to  rob  him,  as  in  letting 
"Mary"  so  fill  their  minds  that  they  do  not  see  Jesus 
clearly  in  his  glorious  mediatorial  work,  and  manifold 
attributes  which  pertain  only  to  a  Divine  Being.  The 
exchange  of  mediators  has  been  so  entire  that  all 
the  great  features  of  the  life  of  Jesus  have  been 
engrafted  on  her  biography,  from  her  "immaculate 
conception"  or  being  born  without  sin,  to  her  glo- 
rious "assumption"  or  ascent  to  heaven,  thus  equal- 
ling her  to  the  Divinity  and  then  bestowing  upon 
her  the  title  of  Mother  of  God  and  Queen  of  Heaven 


The  Virgin  of  Guadalupe.          37 

by  these  means  impressing  the  masses  with  a  belief 
that  she  is  equal  with  God. 

There  are  special  reasons  why  the  Mexican  people 
have  come  to  look  upon  the  Virgin  as  their  "Advo- 
cate." The  Aztecs  found  little  difficulty  in  exchang- 
ing their  great  goddess  Tonantzin  for  Mary  of  Naz- 
areth so  soon  as  she  appeared  as  a  lovety  Indian 
maiden  near  the  ancient  altar  of  their  goddess. 
However  to  avoid  any  show  of  unfairness  I  will  give 
the  Catholics  a  hearing.  I  copy  from  a  Catholic 
paper,  "La  Voz  de  la  Patria,"  of  December  18th, 
1881.  "The  12th  of  December  is  the  great  feast  of 
Mexico,  when  hope  arises  anew  in  the  most  tried 
souls.  The  beautiful  day  and  sublime  scenes  of 
Tepeyecatl  are  brought  to  mind,  the  Queen  of  Heaven, 
talking  lovingly  of  our  nation's  prosperity  with  a 
poor  Indian,  despised  by  the  world,  but  whose  fideli- 
ty and  purity  of  soul  commended  him  to  God,  be- 
cause in  the  sight  of  God  not  the  rich  and  powerful, 
but  humility  and  purity  attract  the  favor  of  Infinite 
Mercy,  thus  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  who  could  only 
see  as  God  sees,  passing  by  the  rich  and  powerful 
deigned  to  speak  to  an  humble  Indian,  making  him 
rich  promises  for  our  good.  She  wished  that  a  temple 
should  be  erected  wherein  to  honor  her,  and  in  which 
she  could  show  forth  mercy  to  such  as  should  invoke 
her  blessing,  and  make  known  their  petitions,  and 
has  left  us  painted  on  the  blanket  (aijate)  of  the 
happy  Indian  her  precious  image  as  Holy  Mary  of 
Guadalupe,  in  testimony  of  her  partiality  to  us. 
Three  hundred  and  fifty  years  have  passed  since 
these  miracles  took  place,  and  the  heavenly  painting 
which  the  August  Mother  of  the  Redeemer,  and 
beloved  Mother  of  the  Mexicans  left  with  him  as  a 
memorial  portrait,  exists  among  us  and  is  venerated 
in  the  magnificent  temple  which  in  fulfillment  of 
their  vow  the  piety  of  our  fathers  built  to  her 
memory,  and  copies  of  this  beautiful  picture  are  found 


38  Great  is  Guadalupe  of  the  Mexicans. 

in  almost  all  our  temples  and  in  our  homes.  On  this 
image  are  written,  says  a  recent  writer,  in  divine 
characters  the  manifest  destiny  of  Mexico,  against 
which  vainly  cavil  those  who  without  raising  their 
eyes  from  the  earth,  consider  themselves  the  supreme 
arbiters  of  the  fate  of  countries,  as  though  there 
were  not  over  all  their  thoughts  an  infinitely  wise 
and  merciful  providence  on  which  our  destiny 
depends.  We  doubt  not,  should  she  not  lose  it  by 
her  evil  deeds,  the  manifest  destiny  of  Mexico  will 
be  to  receive  without  ceasing  the  distinguished 
benefits  conferred  by  Divine  Goodness  and  the 
special  protection  of  the  Mother  of  the  Most  High." 
For  over  two  hundred  years  the  miraculous  ap- 
pearance of  the  Virgin  of  Guadalupe  was  celebrated 
as  a  national  feast  day  and  her  historians  quoted  it 
as  a  historical  fact.  That  the  people  should  have  ad- 
hered so  firmly  to  imposture  and  have  believed  thrat 
the  painting  now  in  the  temple  at  Guadalupe  was 
painted  by  miracle,  that  they  should  have  believed 
that  the  canvass  on  which  it  was  painted  was  the 
ayate  or  blanket  of  Juan  Diego,  the  poor  Indian, 
would  seem  impossible,  did  we  not  reflect  that  fanat- 
icism is  Wind.  I  will  now  briefly  sum  up  the 
opinions  of  those  who  deny  the  miracle. 

1  The  ayates  of  the  Aztecs  were  made  of  the 
fibres  of  the  maguey  or  American  aloe,  like  our  coarse 
roping,  whilst  the  painting  is  on  a  smooth  mat  made 
of  palm  leaves. 

2  The  prayer  sanctioned  by  Pope  Benedict  XIV. 
In  his  brief  he  refused  to  say  that  it  was  miraculously 

.  painted  and  substituted  that  it  was  said  to  be  admi- 
\  rally  painted. 

3  Neither  the  mass  nor  the  prayer   mention  the 
miraculous  appearance. 

4  The  catholic  historian  Sahagun  says  about  it: 
"Near  the    Mounts  there  are  three  or  four  places 
where  the  Aztecs  frequently  offered  solemn  sacrifices, 


The  Shrine  of  Tonantzin.  39 

to  which  people  came  from  remote  places.  One  of 
these  is  called  Tepeyac,  the  Spaniards  called  it 
Tepeaquilla  and  now  it  is  called  Our  Lady  of  Gua- 
dalupe.  In  this  place  they  had  the  Mother  of  the 
gods,  Tonantzin,  which  means  Our  Mother.  There 
they  offered  many  sacrifices,  and  people  came  from 
a  distance  of  twenty  leagues  or  more,  strong  men 
and  women,  young  men  and  maidens,  all  said:  let  us 
go  up  to  the  feast  of  Tonantzin. 

"And  now  that  the  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalu- 
pe  has  been  built  there,  she  is  also  called  Tonantzin. 
From  whence  came  the  foundation  of  this  Tonan- 
tzin we  cannot  ascertain,  though  the  word  signifies 
that  ancient  Tonantzin.  This  thing  should  be  reme- 
died because  the  name  of  the  Mother  of  God  is  not  v 
Tonantzin  but  Diosinantzin.  It  appears  to  be  a  wile 
of  Satan  to  palliate  idolatry  under  the  exchange  of 
this  name  Tonantzin,  and  people  come  from  as  far  to 
worship  this  new  Tonantzin,  and  whilst  there  are 
many  chapels  of  the  Virgin  they  do  not  frequent 
them  but  come  as  before  from  far  and  near  to  the 
shrine  of  Tonantzin."  The  Viceroy  Don  Martin  Eii-  \ 
riquez  and  the  chaplain  of  the  hermitage  of  Gruada-  / 
lupe  ignored  the  aparicion  milagrosa  and  do  not  ap-  / 
pear  to  have  believed  it  even  when  the  King  asked 
that  the  Archbishop  should  visit  it  and  take  account 
of  the  collections  and  donations  received  there  from 
people  who  flocked  there  for  healing  as  they  now  do 
to  the  shrine  of  the  Virgin  of  Lourdes  in  France. 
Superstition  however  makes  people  believe  against 
all  outward  evidences. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  COLPORTEUR  VISITS  SAN  FERNANDO.  REMOVAL  TO 
MATAMOROS,  AND  FIRST  ACQUAINTANCE  WITH  PROT- 
ESTANTISM. ATTENDS  OUR  MEETING  FOR  THE  FIRST 
TIME. 

I  HE  reader  will  pardon  our  presenting  these 
horrid  pictures  of  the  actual  state  of  the  religion 
called  Christianity  in  Mexico,  prior  to  the  advent 
of  Protestant  Christianity,  with  the  open  Bible, 
the  most  powerful  of  all  forces  to  tear  down  the 
firm  walls  of  superstition  and  bigotry.  Such  was  the 
religion  that  Angela  Aguilar  had  been  taught  to 
revere  and  when  in  the  fall  of  1873  a  colporteur 
visited  the  village  of  San  Fernando  with  tracts  and 
papers  from  Matamoros  she  shared  in  the  general 
voice  of  indignation  which  disturbed  for  some  weeks 
the  tranquillity  of  the  village.  A  few  books  were 
sold,  quite  a  number  of  tracts  and  papers  given 
away,  and  for  some  months  nothing  more  was  seen 
of  the  schismatic  book  vender. 

Quite  a  number  of  illustrated  books  for  children 
were  circulated  and  whenever  Angelita  saw  any  of 
these  in  the  hands  of  her  little  playmates  she  warned 
them  of  the  dreadful  judgments  the  priest  had  said 
would  fall  on  all  who  read  them. 

She  was  not  always  successful  in  her  efforts,  as 
she  supposed  to  hinder  a  corrupt  literature  from 
being  circulated  in  the  village,  but  many  were  the 
praises  bestowed  upon  her  when  she  told  her 
confessor  how  she  had  labored  and  enabled  him  to 
get  track  of  the  offenders  and  if  possible  get 

40 


Removal  to  Matamoros*  41 

possession  of  the  obnoxious  papers  and  commit 
them  to  the  flames. 

Her  mother's  opportunity  of  service  was  interrup- 
ted by  the  second  marriage  of  B S and 

having  heard  that  house  servants  were  receiving 
better  wages  in  Matamoros  she  determined  to  remove 
thither,  which  took  place  in  1874. 

She  soon  found  a  situation,  but  it  was  by 
separating  from  her  children,  though  sometimes  she 
could  spend  the  nights  with  them. 

She  had  rented  a  room  near  the  central  part  of 
the  city  where  her  children  could  live  quietly  and 
where  she  could  go  to  see  them  when  any  exigency 
required. 

Angela  was  then  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  En- 
carnacion  or  Chpna  as  she  was  familiarly  called  was 
about  twelve,  and  the  little  boy  Manuel,  a  restless 
obstreperous  urchin  of  four  years,  who  wore  a  single 
calico  shirt,  gave  them  a  full  share  of  anxiety  and 
care  to  keep  him  anywhere  within  reasonable  bounds, 

Angelita  frequented  the  Catholic  Church,  was 
instructing  a  class  of  children  in  the  Catechism 
preparatory  to  confirmation,  and  when  Bishop  Mon- 
tesdeoca  came  to  the  city,  she  obtained  an  interview, 
and  piously  knelt  and  kissed  his  hand,  hoping  that  her 
soul  would  be  much  sooner  released  from  purgatory 
by  this  act  of  respect  to  her  Bishop.  She  was  pleased 
to  see  several  of  her  pupils  receive  confirmation 
and  with  great  pleasure  assisted  the  girls  to  adjust 
their  white  gauze  veils  to  go  and  confess,  so  as  to 
receive  their  first  communion,  or  partake  of  the  holy 
wafer,  which  she  reverently  believed  to  be  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ. 

Such  was  her  life  when  an  unexpected  incident 
crossed  her  pathway.  She  had  been  intimate  in  San 

Fernando  with  Petra  S sister  of  B S who 

kept  house  for  her  brother  M S a  merchant 

whose  place  of  business  was  near  the  Market. 


42  First  Acquaintance  with  Protestants. 

However  he  determined  to  reside  farther  from  the 
centre  of  town  and  being  well  acquainted  with  Julian 
Mireles,  who  had  gone  as  colporteur  to  San  Fernando, 
on  hearing  that  the  room  adjoining  the  one  occupied^ 
by  Julian  and  family  and  which  had  been  recently 
occupied  by  Mica j  ah  M.  Binford  and  wife,  was  va- 
cated, he  rented  the  room.  Julian  had  a  daughter, 
Gertrudis,  an  excellent  singer,  and  devout  Protestant 
and  their  previous  acquaintance  was  not  interrupted 
by  a  difference  of  religious  opinion  if  indeed  any  such 

difference  existed,  for  M S was  a  subscriber  to 

"El  Ramo  de  Olivo,"  and  both  he  and  his  sister  Pe- 
tra  were  familiar  with  the  reform  movement 
inaugurated  in  1861  by  their  uncle  Ramon  Lozano. 
They  were  tolerant  at  least,  and  when  G-ertmdis  in- 
vited Petra  to  accompany  her  to  the  reunion  or 
meeting  of  the  "Friends"  she  gladly  consented  to 
come  and  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  singing. 

A  few  days  afterwards  her  intimate  friend,  Ange- 
lita  came  to  visit  her  and  was  introduced  to  Gertru- 
dis and  was  requested  by  Petra  to  attend  the 
x  Friends'  meeting  where  she  could  -see  how  their  sing- 
ing would  compare  with  that,  of  the  Catholic  choir 
of  which  Angefita  was  a  well  known  vocalist. 

A  few  days  later  Julian  Mireles  and  family  re- 
moved to  a  room  adjoining  that  occupied  by  the  three 
children  of  the  widow  Zuniga. 

Angelita  had  lost  somewhat  her  fear  of  heretics, 
the  presence  of  two  large  Protestant  congregations 
was  a  fact  known  to  all  the  residents,  and  her  mother 
was  servant  in  a  family  of  foreigners  who  were 
secretly  Protestants. 

Thus  when  invited  by  Gertrudis  she  consented  to 
accompany  her  to  the  meeting  out  of  curiosity  only. 
It  was  a  beautiful  night  in  June  1875  that  with  many 
misgivings  of  conscience  this  interesting  young  lady 
entered  the  spacious  hall,  No.  49  Calle  de  Bravo, 
occupied  by  the  Friends'  Mission,  and  without  the 


Friends9  Mission  Meeting.  43 

• 

least  thought  that    she  would    ever  enter  the  place 
again. 

There  was  nothing  attractive  in  the  surroundings. 
The  hall  was  like  most  buildings  in  Mexico,  built 
on  a  line  with  the  narrow  sidewalk,  and  had  three 
pair  of  glass  doors  giving  ample  light  by  day.  This 
being  a  night  service  it  was  lighted  by  hanging  lamps 
in  the  alley  and  wall  lamps  with  glass  reflectors.  At 
one  end  of  the  room  was  a  desk,  and  on  this  was  a 
large  Spanish  Bible,  which  had  recently  been  acquired 
from  a  preacher  who  passed  through  the  city,  as  a  large 
Bible  had  not  before  been  seen  by  our  missionaries. 

Two  preachers  sat  behind  the  desk,  on  the  same 
level  as  tlie  congregation,  both  were  young  men, 
aged  respectively  thirty  one  and  twenty  one  years. 
Behind  the  speakers  was  a  glass  window  opening  to 
the  yard;  and  to  which  the  fanatical  persons  at  times 
directed  a  throw  of  pieces  of  bricks  or  large  beef 
bones  to  annoy  the  speakers  and  if  possible  interrupt 
the  congregation.  The  street  doors  were  open  and 
oftentimes  small  groups  of  passers  by  stopped  to 
listen  to  the  services,  some  quiet  and  attentive,  others 
boisterous  and  reviling.  The  speakers  and  audience 
were  so  accustomed  to  these  inconveniences  that 
they  did  not  appear  to  be  in  the  least  disturbed  by 
them.  These  were  however  novel  scenes  for  the  new 
comer,  and  she  could  not  fail  to  note  the  contrast 
between  this  humble  scene  and  the  spacious  naves, 
and  heavy  columns  of  the  Catholic  church  edifice, 
with  the  long  row  of  pictures  and  statues  of  the 
Saints  on  each  side  and  the  altar  in  front  glowing 
with  gold  and  tinsel,  and  the  new  chandeliers 
with  their  gaudy  glow  of  glass  prisms  which  had  but 
a  short  time  previously  cost  over  seven  hundred 
dollars,  and  had  been  formally  blessed  amid  the 
showers  of  incense  and  great  demonstrations  of 
jubilee  in  the  presence  of  over  two  thousand  specta- 
tors. 


44    Attends  Friends9  Mission  Meeting. 

Here  everything  was  rude  and  "simple,  but  the 
language  flowed  forth,  not  in  the  accustomed  Latin 
of  the  Romish  service  but  in  clear  words  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  listeners.  A  hymn  was  read  by  M.  M. 
Binford,  which  was  sung  by  the  congregation,  and 
followed  by  the  reading  of  a  chapter  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament and  remarks  on  the  same,  then  one  of  the 
preachers  knelt  in  prayer,  followed  by  a  brief  and 
pointed  sermon  on  the  value  of  the  Bible,  and  the 
duty  of  all  men  to  study  it  diligently  so  as  to  know  the 
will  of  God  concerning  them.  The  power  of  Christ  to 
redeem  the  soul  from  spiritual  death  and  give  it 
power  and  life  was  dwelt  upon,  and  the  speaker 
pleaded  earnestly  with  all  who  were  anxious  about 
their  souls'  salvation  to  seek  the  pardon  of  their  sins 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  live  a  new  life, 
kept  by  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  through 
faith  in  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 

Angelita  listened  with  deep  feeling  to  these  words 
and  seemed  to  see  how  great  a  blessing  she  had  been 
deprived  of  by  a  church  which  virtually  prohibited 
her  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  answer  of  her 
own  heart  convinced  her  that  words  so  fitting  to  her 
own  needs  must  proceed  from  the  fountain  of  all 
truth,  she  lost  her  confidence  in  the  shadowy  forms 
of  Romanism  and  then  and  there  resolved  to  be  a 
Protestant. 

The  closing  service  impressed  her  greatly.  Agustin 
Gonzalez  who  had  been  admitted  a  member  at  the 
last  business  meeting  arose  at  the  request  of  M.  M. 
Binford  and  in  answer  to  his  inquiries  gave  a  full 
and  clear  statement  of  his  knowledge  of  his  own 
sinfulness,  and  clear  account  of  bis  conversion,  of 
his  sense  of  acceptance  through  faith  in  Christ.  A 
hymn  was  sung  at  the  close  when  the  eldest  speaker 
said  very  simply:  "May  God  accompany  all  with  his 
blessing  as  we  separate."  She  was  deeply  impressed 
and  longed  for  the  next  meeting  day  to  come. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OBSTACLES  TO  BE  OVEECOME.  ATTENDS  MEETING  AGAIN. 
THE  SPEAKEE  IS  INTEODUCED  AND  MEETING  DE- 
SCEIBED.  VISIT  OF  GrULIELMA  M.  PlJEDIE  AND  INFLU- 
ENCE OF  A  TEACT. 

MHE  next  meeting  was  to  take  place  on  First  Day 
afternoon,  and  she  would  have  to  go  openly,  and 
it  would  become  generally  known  that  she  was 
an  investigator  of  the  new  religion.  She  had  a 
still  more  powerful  obstacle  to  overcome.  When  she 
told  her  mother  where  she  had  been  and  what  a  good 
meeting  they  had  in  the  Friends'  Mission  Room,  her 
mother  in  no  wise  sympathised  with  her  and  at  first 
was  entirely  unwilling  for  her  to  go  again.  Angelita 
however  by  the  mediation  of  their  neighbors  gained 
permission  to  do  so,  and  the  arguments  of  Julian 
Mireles  produced  quite  an  impression  on  the  mind  of 
the  widow  Ziiniga,  although  she  was  unwilling  open- 
ly to  acknowledge  it.  However  he  gained  his  point  so 
far  as  to  induce  her  to  send  her  youngest  daughter  and 
little  boy  to  the  school  taught  by  Grulielma  M.  Purdie, 
who  was  assisted  in  the  recitations  by  Jesus  Mireles, 
son  of  Julian,  and  thus  on  the  coming  Sabbath 
Angelita  had  the  pleasure  of  taking  her  sister  with 
her  to  meeting. 

The  meeting  was  a  very  impressive  one.  It  began 
with  a  Bible  Class,  the  study  of  a  portion  of  one  of 
the  Gk>spels,  followed  by  a  regular  meeting  for  wor- 
ship and  instruction.  The  younger  children  formed  a 
separate  class,  and  after  the  opening  exercises  with- 
drew to  the  interior  porch,  where  they  were  instructed 

45 


46         Mission  Meeting  Described. 

by  M.  M.  1 5in ford,  on  whom  the  principal  services 
devolved  during  the  public  meeting,  and  it  tended  t  <  > 
confirm  Angelita  in  her  adhesion  to  the  Protestant 
faith.  Her  sister  was  also  deeply  interested  in  the 
exercises  and  ready  to  second  the  determination  of 
Angelita  to  whom  she  had  long  been  accustomed  to 
look  for  direction  and  instruction. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  an  eventful  week  in  the 
life  of  Angela  Aguilar  y  Zuniga.  As  we  have  already 
intimated  Julian  Mireles  had  earnestly  set  himself  to 
seek  by  some  means  to  win  Francisca  Zuniga  to  the 
cause  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  He  saw  that  her 
curiosity  had  been  awakened  and  that  whilst  she 
was  unwilling  to  let  her  daughter  know  it,  she  was 
half  persuaded  to  go  and  hear  what  the  foreigners 
had  to  say.  Julian  proposed  to  take  her  to  the  Pres- 
byterian service,  whilst  her  daughter  was  absent  on 
an  evening  visit,  and  not  let  her  know  anything 
about  it.  Thus  on  Wednesday  night  at  half  past  seven 
Francisca  Zuniga  '  entered  the  room  occupied  by  the 
^Presbyterian  Mission  in  company  with  Julian  Mireles 
and  wife.  Both  the  Quaker  missionaries  were  present 
and  by  invitation  the  senior  one  took  charge  of  the 
services.  Thus  quite  unexpectedly  she  had  chanced 
to  hear  the  very  same  persons  to  whose  preaching 
her  daughter  had  listened  with  so  much  attention. 
Although  she  took  at  that  time  no  open  stand  in 
favor  of  the  reform  movement,  all  her  opposition 
to  the  attendance  of  her  daughters  at  meeting  ceased. 

The  following  night  Angelita  and  her  sister 
attended  the  meeting  at  the  Friends'  Mission,  this 
time  three  brethren  sat  at  the  desk^  one  of  them  a 
veteran  laborer  in  the  reform  movement,  who 
appeared  to  be  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  whp  was 
the  principal  speaker  on  that  occasion.  He  read  a 
part  of  his  discourse,  now  and  then  launching  out  in 
earnest  denunciations  of  the  errors  and  abominations 
of  Romanism  and  the  horrid  persecutions  they  had 


Cleinente  Abraham  Vivero.          4? 

inflicted  on  Protestants,  not  only  in  other  countries, 
but  quite  recently  in  Mexico.  He  brought  together  a 
long  list  of  martyrs  in  different  epochs,  closing  with 
a  touching  description  of  the  assassination  of  John 
L.  Stephens  at  Ahualulco  de  Mercado,  which  had* 
taken  place  but  a  few  months  previously,  and  which 
had  filled  the  Liberal  party  with  consternation. 

The  speaker  was  as  we  have  already  stated  a  very 
singular  personage  in  every  respect,  for  although  of 
a  dark  Indian  cast  of  countenance,  he  was  rather  tall 
and  slender,  his  large  black  eyes  seemed  to  betray 
an  ancestry  which  terminated  among  the  Moors  of 
Spain,  his  high  forehead  gave  him  an  intelligent 
look,  whilst  several  protuberances  which  would  alarm 
a  phrenologist  and  which  seem  to  have  resulted  from 
blows  caused  by  severe  accidents  in  mining  and  the 
attacks  of  his  persecutors,  gave  him  a  weird  aspect 
not  altogether  prepossessing.  One  thing  however  was 
in  his  favor,  he  was  a  Mexican,  he  spoke  his  native 
language  with  surprising  fluency  and  brought  out  in 
detail  those  political  movements  and  historic  events 
connected  with  the  long  struggle  for  religious  liberty 
in  which  he  had  taken  an  active  part.  He  seemed  to 
bear  the  whole  audience  along  with  him  in  his  advo- 
cacy of  the  .Reform  movement. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  he  was  of  a  powerful 
mind  and  had  a  great  influence  on  the  audience.   He 
had  arrived  in  the  city  but   a  few  weeks   previous, 
the  well  known  history  of  his  sufferings  had  enlisted 
their  sympathies,  and  they  had  collected   about   ten 
dollars  to  aid  his  family,   which  on  this  occasion   he 
acknowledged  by  most  touching   comparisons   withx 
the    benevolent    exertions   of  the   early  church   as/ 
recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

He  made  a  most  touching  appeal  to  his  hearers  to 
cleanse  their  souls  from  having  part  in  the  blood  of 
Stephens  by  leaving  the  church  of  Rome,  and  joining  x 
that  movement  which  was  in  perfect  harmony  with 


/s       Results  of  Tract  Distribution. 

the  existing  laws  of  the  country,  and  the  best 
interests  of  the  people,  to  return  to  the  first  principles 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  Gospel  of  salvation  as  Christ  taught  it, 
without  addition  or  comment,  the  alpjne  way  to  sal- 
vation. Angelita  was  not  only  fully  persuaded  of  the 
truth  she  heard  but  at  once  anxious  to  clear  her 
own  soul  from  any  acquiescence  in  the  death  of 
Stephens  by  a  public  withdrawal  from  the  church  of 
Rome  and  an  open  avowal  of  her  adhesion  to  the 
pure  Gospel  of  Christ. 

During  the  same  week  she  recceived  a  visit  from 
Gulielma  M.  Purdie  who  understanding  the  difficul- 
ties she  had  encoun- 
tered in  her  conver- 
sion presented  her  a 
beautiful  little  pam- 
phlet  entitled  "Fath- 
er Ignacio  and  his 
Victims,"  a  deeply 
touching  narrative 
of  the  conversion  of 
a  Spanish  Countess 
who  was  burned  at 
the  stake  in  1559. 
This  tract  presented 
in  familiar  converse 
the  vast  difference 
between  the  Romish 
worship  of  Saints, 
and  particularly  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  and 
the  New  Testament 
doctrine  of  -One  Me- 
diator between  God 


THE  SPANISH  COUNTESS. 


and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  and  direct  access  to 
God  in  prayer  and  a  clear  personal  experience  of  the 
pardon  of  sins  through  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ. 


.. 


The  Castilian  Martyrs. 


49 


The  narrative  of  this  tract  opens  in  the  beautiful 
home  of  Count  Cardefia,  where  the  mother  had  died 
and  the  principal  care  of  the  household  rested  on  the 
eldest  daughter,  who  had  taken  due  care  of  the 
instruction  of  her  younger  sister.  The  eldest  becomes 
anxious  about  her  soul's  welfare,  for  she  notices  the 

want  of  perfect  peace 
even  when  attentive  to 
all  the  duties  and  pen- 
ances of  her  church.  In 
this  mood  she  takes  a 
walk  in  the  fields  and 
sits  down  by  a  rocky 
prominence  to  meditate 
on  the  wonders  of  nat- 
ure and  the  beauties 
God  has  permitted  us 
even  in  this  present 
world.  She  hears  a  voice 
in  earnest  prayer,  the 
words  sound  strange  for 
she  hears  that  Spain 
lies  in  darkness,  and 
that  voice  asks  God  by 
the  light  of  his  Gospel 
to  dissipate  the  gross  darkness  of  error  and  save  the 
nation.  A  moment  later  she  is  surprised  as  their 
gardener  emerges  from  behind  the  rock,  as  surprised 
at  being  overheard  in  his  prayer  as  was  she  in  hear- 
ing him  pray  so  earnestly  to  God.  She  finds  that  he 
possesses  a  copy  of  one  of  the  Gospels,  that  he  reads 
it  daily  at  home  to  his  niece,  arid  she  gladly  joins 
them  in  these  occasions  of  worship  and  prayer.  The 
Inquisition  tracks  out  the  Huguenot  laborer  and  he 
and  his  protegee  perish  in  tlieflaines.  He  leaves  the 
copy  of  the  Gospel  with  his  wealthy  convert,  and 
that  volume  is  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  her  sister, 
her  brother  is  converted  whilst  copying  one  of  the 

E 


THE  GARDENER'S  PKAYEE. 


.• 


50         Romanism  still  Unchanged. 

Gospels  for  the  monks  of  Ms  convent,  all  meet  in 
the  hall  of  torment  and  perish  side  by  side  in  an  Anl<> 
de  Fe.  The  conversations  embrace  every  point  of 
difference  between  Romanism  and  Protestantism, 
and  it  was  just  the  tract  which  Angelita  needed,  and 
was  greatly  useful  in  confirming  the  resolution  she 
had  formed  to  break  away  ^rom  Borne  even  in  face 
of  scorn  and  contempt. 

This  tract  has  passed  through  three  editions  011 
our  presses,  the  last  one  being  stereotyped,  and  has 
been  reprinted  in  Toluca  and  Guadalajara,  thus 
thousands  of  persons  have  been  influenced  by  its 
clear  and  bold  teachings.  It  is  chiefly  a  translation  of 
a  small  volume  entitled  "The  Castilian  Martyrs," 
issued  by  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  New  York. 
Some  grave  historical  errors  are  corrected,  for  that 
(  volume  has  them  perish  in  the  Inquisition  at  Madrid. 

There    were  then  but  two 
/Inquisitions  in  Spain,  one  at 
\  Valladolid  and  the  other  at 
Seville,    where    the    family 
whose  martyrdom  forms  the 
basis  of  the    volume  really 
suffered.  Juan  Gonzalez  and 
his  two  sisters  were  tied  to 
three  stakes  and  began  sing- 

AUTO  DE  FE,  IN  SEVILLE.    in^  *  Psf^  ytolst  the  flames 

wrapped  theiryouthful  forms 

until  their  souls  took  their  flight  from  the  burning 
tenement  to  form  part  in  the  heavenly  throng  which 
John  saw  of  witnesses,  who  having  been  faithful  unto 
death  have  received  a  crown  of  life. 

To  many  of  our  readers  any  mention  of  the  Inqui- 
sition would  seem  a  needless  reviving  of  records  of 
deeds  which  history  condemns,  but  we  who  have  felt 
more  or  less  the  unchanged  tenor  of  Romanism  in 
Spanish  countries,  and  have  been  called  upon  to 
record  in  our  pages  deeds  of  blood,  when  whole 


Martyrdom  of  John  L.  Stephens.      51 

congregations  have  been  almost  annihilated  by  armed 
mobs  headed  by  priests,  where  in  one  case  a  minister 
was  shot  by  the  priest  who  led  the  mob,  a  foreign 
missionary  being  the  first  martyr,  to  us  Rome  is  still 
the  Mystery  Babylon,  stained  with  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs. 

Yet  this  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the 
church,  and  no  epoch  of  the  work  has  been  more 
fruitful  to  the  cause  than  that  immediately  following 
the  death  of  John  Luther  Stephens.  At  the  sight  of 
the  niangied  corpse  weltering  in  blood,  the  wife  of 
his  native  co-laborer  whose  life  was  providentially 
saved,  and  who  was  still  a  firm  Catholic,  thro  wing  her 
arms  around  her  husband's  neck  exclaimed:  "Oh  my 
child!  I  was  unwilling  to  believe  that  Catholicism  was 
a  persecuting  religion  as  thou  didst  tell  me;  I  believed 
as  my  relatives  told  me  that  the  Catholic  religion  was 
to  be  'persecuted  but  not  overcome,'  but  now  I  am 
undeceived.  Was  it  necessary  that  I  should  see  this 
in  order  to  be  convinced?  We  can  no  .longer  remain 
members  of  a  church  stained  with  blood  and  infamy." 

It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  one  of  those 
who  took  an  active  part  in  the  mob  which  assassina- 
ted Stephens  and  sought  the  life  of  his  co-laborer 
Severiano  Grallegos,  our  peace  poet,  is  now  like  him, 
a  Methodist  preacher.  They  recently  met  at  Confer- 
ence. Whilst  the  recent  convert  was  preaching  he  saw 
Gallegos  seated  among  the  preachers,  and  stopping 
his  discourse  threw  his  arms  around  him,  asking  his 
forgiveness  for  the  rash  attempt  upon  his  life,  and 
thanked  God  for  having  frustrated  his  wicked  design. 

In  the  midst  of  such  persecutions,  and  beholding 
around  us  the  criminal  conduct  of  priests,  such 
as  would  stain  our  pages  by  their  recital,  when 
not  only  are  the  living  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  but 
in  one  case  a  dead  body  is  scourged  to  cleanse  the 
soul  of  its  former  occupant  from  the  crime  of  having 
taken  an  affirmation  to  sustain  and  defend  the  Con- 


52    Present  State  of  Catholic  Nations. 

stitution  and  Reform  Laws  of  Mexico,  in  the  midst 
of  such  events  we  feel  bound  to  handle  Romanism  as 
William  Penn  handles  it  in  his  "Seasonable  Caveat 
against  Popery,"  as  it  ever  will  be  handled  by  those 
who  know  its  true  character,  and  can  trace  the  un- 
changing leopard  spots  beneath  whatever  enticing 
outward  fleece  they  may  be  hidden. 

It  need  scarcely  surprise  us  that  in  view  of  these 
things  a  very  large  number  of  people  should  abandon 
Romanism,  and  knowing  no  other  religion  should  fall 
into  infidelity.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  been  the 
case  that  a  city  paper  printed  in  the  capital  of  the 
State  of  Tabasco  said  of  the  attendance  at  services 
there  during  the  Holy  Week:  "The  priest  walks  soli- 
tary and  alone  under  the  arches  of  the  cathedral,  the 
unbelieving  multitude  have  fled  from  the  altar,  and 
only  in  the  isolated  villages  are  religious  services 
attended  or  appreciated." 

The  reason  of  this  apostasy  is  clearly  set  forth  by 
Joaquin  Chiriboga  in  his  "La  Luz  del  Pueblo:"  "Faith 
and  philanthropic  sentiments  have  disappeared  from 
the  world  because  piety  and  good  sense  have  fled 
from  the  church.  The  discourses  of  the  Pontiff,  the 
decisions  of  the  Councils  and  the  pastorals  of  the 
Bishops  clash  with  that  charity  and  right  reason 
which  should  ever  accompany  the  inspirations  of 
those  who  call  themselves  the  vicars  and  ministers 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  from  this  results  that  chaos  of 
errors  and  selfish  passions  in  which  Catholic  nations 
are  submerged." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OPENLY  EMBRACES  PROTESTANTISM.  Is  ADMITTED  A 
MEMBER  OF  FRIENDS'  SOCIETY.  GENERAL  VIEW  OF 
THE  MEXICAN  MISSION  IN  1875%  NEW  'DIFFICULTIES. 


have  now  arrived  at  a  point  from  whence  the 
records  of  the  business  meeting  will  enable  us 
to  fix  the  dates  and  bring  the  events  into  his- 
torical order.  The  following  Sabbath  was  a 
memorable  day  in  the  life  of  Angelita.  It  Vas  then 
that  she  made  known  her  convictions  and  her  resolu- 
tion to  openly  throw  aside  all  allegiance  to  Rome  and 
publicly  declare  herself  a  Protestant. 

It  was  a  severe  trial,  for  she  was  naturally  timid, 
&nd  she  knew  this  step  would  sever  many  ties  with 
former  associates,  and  would  bring  upon  her  both 
ridicule  and  persecution.  It  would  also  place  her 
in  care  of  new  spiritual  advisers,  who  were  almost 
strangers  to  her,  for  she  had  first  met  them  only 
three  weeks  previously.  It  is  true  that  one  thing 
-made  her  feel  less  diffident.  In  receiving  counsel,  and 
as  she  had  formerly  believed  forgiveness  of  sins  from 
her  confessor,  she  was  obliged  to  be  alone  with  an 
^unmarried  man,  and  the  sad  tales  of  the  abuse  of 
these  opportunities  for  leading  young  females  astray 
had  filled  her  with  anxiety,  whilst  those  who  were 
now  to  give  her  counsel  and  caution  were  both 
married  men,  and  their  wives  sat  with  her  during  the 
meeting,  and  there  was  a  certain  nearness  of  social 
feeling  she  never  could  have  felt  toward  the  priests. 

53 


54       Unites  ivith  the  Mission  Church* 

Tln-rc  \\-jis  no  seclusion,  when,  her  request  had  been 
HUM  Jo  known  through  the  kindness  of  Mariana  Villa- 
nueva  de  Mireles,  she  was  requested  to  remain  after 
the  meeting  was  dismissed,  and  whilst  the  audience 
was  separating  M.  M.  Binford  went  to  where  she 
was  seated  and  began  to  inquire  about  the  state  of 
her  own  soul  and  her  experience  of  forgiveness  of 
sins  and  hope  of  eternal  life  through  the  atonement 
of  Christ.  Also  of  her  conversion  from  the  supersti- 
tions of  Romanism  to  the  free  and  full  Gospel  of 
Christ.  Her  answers  were  clear  and  decisive.  She 
believed  herself  to  be  a  child  of  God  through  faith  in 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  was  determined  by  the 
promised  grace  of  God  to  bring  her  life  into  full  con- 
formity with  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
Apostles  as  found  in  the  New  Testament.  In  her 
sister  there  was  not  that  clearness  and  depth  of  ex- 
perience, yet  there  was  a  full  acceptance  of  the 
teachings  of  Christ,  and  faith  in  him  as  her  only 
Savior.  She  was  fully  prepared  to  second  the  move- 
ment of  her  sister  and  henceforth  be  one  with  her 
in  Christian  faith. 

So  soon  as  the  writer  had  attended  to  the  distri- 
bution of  some  papers  to  the  dispersing  assembly 
he  joined  M.  M.  Binford  in  his  conversation  with  the 
young  converts,  and  both  being  satisfied  it  was  deci- 
ded to  propose  them  to  the  next  business  meeting  for 
admission  as  members,  together  with  another  person 
whose  name  is  not  mentioned. 

This  was  the  last  meeting  our  Friend  M.  M.  Binford 
attended  before  embarking  for  the  United  States,  for 
a  brief  journey  as  was  then  supposed  but  which 
finally  resulted  in  his  being  unable  to  rejoin  the 
mission  during  the  eight  years  which  have  elapsed 
since  that  favored  Sabbath  evening. 

There  was  a  feeling  of  sorrow  at  the  brief  separa- 
tion of  one  whose  pastoral  gift  had  been  abundantly 
blessed  to  many  souls,  and  had  it  been  thought  that 


Departure  of  Missionaries.         55 

tliis  was  to  be  a  long  separation  (we  will  still  hope 
it  may  not  be  a  final  parting,)  the. sorrow  would  have 
been  unbounded. 

The  mission  at  that  time  was  sadly  in  need  of  funds, 
and  aside  from  the  broken  health  of  his  wife  it  was 
thought  that  a  visit  to  different  places  would  enable 
our  Friend  to  lay  the  subject  before  Friends  at  home 
and  save  the  mission.  In  this  respect  the  results 
were  most  gratifying  and  the  work  not  only  con- 
tinued but  considerably  enlarge^..  Indiana  Yearly  \ 
Meeting  appropriated  $1500,  and  quite  a  large  sum 
was  collected  in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  New 
York. 

Little  did  the  congregation  think  that  in  a  few 
weeks  they  would  have  to  part  with  another  laborer, 
the  veteran  colporteur  and  evangelist  Clemente  A. 
Vivero,  who  accepted  a  solicitation  from  the  Metho- 
dist superintendent  of  Western  Texas  and  was  soon 
•after  stationed  at  Bio  Grande  City,  about  100  miles 
farther  up  the  river,  and  on  the  American  side. 

But  a  few  months  later  they  were  to  bid  fare- 
well to  their  only  remaining  minister  under  most 
unfavorable  and  unpromising  circumstances.  But 
we  must  not  press  forward  too  rapidly.  By  examining 
the  record  of  the  business  meeting  we  find  that  in 
the  seventh  session,  held  on  the  7th  of  8th  Month  or 
August  1875;  "This  session  was  opened  by  reading 
the  minutes  of  the  preceding  session,  after  which  the 
treasurer  informed  the  meeting  that  $  2.  50  had  been 
•collected  during  the  month  for  aiding  the  sick  and 
poor  members,  and  he  was  directed  to  apply  it  to  the 
«ame  use  as  that  of  the  previous  session.*  The  broth- 
*er  who  presides,  Samuel  A.  Purdie,  then  presented  the 
names  of  three  persons  who  were  desirous  of  joining 
-as  members,  having  been  examined  according  to  our 
Discipline,  they  are  now  admitted  as  members  of  this 


To  -aid  tbe  family  of  Ctemeute  Abraham  Vivero. 


56         Public,  Confession  of  Clirist. 

Society,  on  making  the  public  profession  of  their 
faith,  and  acceptance  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  their 
rule  of  life  and  conduct.  The  committee  of  beneficence 
(overseers  of  the  poor,)  in  the  fulfillment  of  their 
commission  reported  that  there  had  been  no  sickness 
during  the  month,  and  that  Castulo  Salas  desires  to 
be  united  in  membership  with  our  Society. ^Agustin 
Gonzalez  was  appointed  to  fill  the  commission  of 
beneficence  during  the  present  month, 

JESUS  MIRELES,  Secy.'" 

The  minute  does  not  mention  the  names  of  those 
admitted,  and  appears  to  have  been  an  intentional 
omission,  rectified  by  concurrent  testimony  and  by 
being  the  only  case  where  blank  spaces  were  left 
in  place  of  names. 

As  this  session  was  held  on  the  7th  we  find  that 
the  following  day  was  the  time  when  these  two- 
sisters  made  the  public  profession  called  for  in  the? 
minute.  It  was  a  series  of  questioning  very  similar 
to  that  already  mentioned,  and  took  place  in  the- 
presence  of  the  whole  assembly  in  the  regular  meet- 
ing for  worship,  which  in  this  case  was  on  First-day 
evening,  the  new  members  simply  rising  at  their  seats 
so  that  all  present,  not  only  members  and  believers 
but  unbelievers  could  thus  feel  the  force  of  their 
testimony  for  Jesus. 

We  might  here  state  that  often  this  plain  testimony 
had  a  more  convincing  effect  than  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel,  because  they  could  well  understand  how 
much  self  sacrifice  it  cost  these  timid  converts  to  thus 
openly  break  off  old  companionships  and  stand  up 
for  Jesus,  not  only  before  a  frowning  world,  but  also- 
before  a  powerful  and  persecuting  church.  Aside 
from  the  converting  power  of  such  a  public  profes- 
sion, or  as  the  Spanish  people  call  it  confession,  on 
the  audience  it  had  a  most  beneficial  effect  on  the- 
new  converts  themselves.  It  was  a  decided  step  of- 


New  Trials  and  Proving^.          o1? 

separation  from  the  world,  and  from  the  Catholic 
church  as  well.  They  were  strengthened  by  the 
Savior's  promise: —  "Whosoever  therefore  shall 
confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. "  Mat.  x.  32, 

They  were  however  fully  reminded  that  a  verbal 
confession  is  vain  unless  .the  child  of  God  showa 
forth  in  a  Chri.stain  life  and  conversation  the  fruits 
meet  for  repentance,  thus  forming  an  epistle  known 
and  read  of  all  men.  These  were  days  of  much 
reviling,  crowds  of  rough  looking  people  thronged 
our  doors  and  many  means  were  employed  for  dis-- 
turbing  the  gatherings,  yet  we  may  look  upon  this  as- 
a  great  blessing,  for  making  it  so  severe  a  trial  to 
profess  the  truth  it  cleared  us  of  an  element  moved 
only  by  popular  favor,  who  might  otherwise  have? 
sided  with  us  without  actual  conversion. 

Aside  from  these  trials  an  unexpectedly  dark  cloud 
broke  over  the  young  sisters  who  had  now  joined  us/ 
Their  mother  had  become  tolerant,  and  acquiesced 
in  the  change,  but  a  sudden  estrangement  broke 
upon  Angelita  from  the  very  persons  who  had  beefr 
the  first  to  encourage  her  change  of  position.  Respect 
for  the  dead  and  love  for  the  living  induce  us  ta 
throw  the  vail  of  silence  over  those  events  which 
wrhilst  proving  the  faith  of  the  young  convert, 
induced  her  to  stand  for  the  right,  cost  what  it 
might.  She  determined  hastily  to  change^  her  homeT 
and  in  the  emergency  was  obliged  to  take  up  her 
abode  in  a  much  humbler  residence  than  the  one  she 
was  resolved  to  leave. 


fiierogliphic  itfraeg  of  each  day  of  the  pfith, 

• 

FROM  THE  AZTEC  CALENDEE. 

CHAPTER  IX, 

DABKE&T  HOUK  BEFORE  DAWN.  BECOMES  AN  IN- 
MATE OF  THE  MISSION  FAMILY.  FlRST  EFFORTS  TO 
INTEREST  THE  CHILDREN  IN  GrOSPEL  HYMNS. 


Ninth  Street,  between  Bravo  and.  Matamoros^ 
some  poor  man  had  thrown  a  roof  ever  the  inter- 
vening space  between  two  humble  dwellings  and 
closed  it  at  front  and  rear,  so  as  to  afford  a  shelter 
Which  served  for  a  shop.  The  roof  Was  of  inch  boards 
with  narrow  battens,  and  having  but  a  slight  incline' 
Was  but  little  protection  against  the  rains^  As  no 
severe  rain  had  fallen  for  a  long  interval  of  time  the 
ground  beneath  was  now  dry,  and  as  it  Was  offered 
for  rent  at  two  dollars  per  month  she  decided  to 
occupy  it.-  Under  the  cover  of  night  they  took  their 
baggage  and  moved  to  the  new  place.  The  three 
orphans  in  a  single  journey  'on  foot  took  all  their 
goods  to  their  new  home.- 


Vo  Chan  ye  of 

Nature  seemfcd  to  partake  of  the  same  dark  aspect 
as  their  surrounding  circumstances.  It  was  a  cloudy, 
night  and  now  and  then  bright  chains  of  lightning 
illuminated  the  northern  horizon,  accompanied  by 
low  sullen  rolls  of  thunder,  and  as  the  young  girl 
reflected  on  the  sudden  change  she  found  it  impossible 
to  sleep. 

She  had  peace  of  mind  in  the  thought  that  she  had 
taken  the  right  course,  that  she  had  decided  not  to 
be  a  hearer  only  of  the  G-ospel,  but  a  doer  thereof* 
Strange  as  it  may  seem 'that  very  night  a  deluging 
rain  broke  upon  the  city  and  before  day  dawned  the 
ground  of  their  floor  was  so  moistened  that  on  step- 
ping about  it  at  once  became  reduced  to  a  soft  and 
plastic  mud. 

The  little  barefoot  boy  could  however  go  to  the 
market  and  buy  eatables,  so  she  gave  him  the  last 
quarter  she  had  and  sent  him  to  buy  some  things  for 
breakfast  and  bring  back  the  change.  He  went  along 
the  narrow  brick  side-walk  and  boy  like  carelessly 
tripping  along  let  fall  the  quarter,  which  disappeared 
in  the  bottom  of  a  mud-hole  formed  by  the  rain  of 
the  previous  night  and  if  ever  found,  it  certainly  never 
returned  to  its  rightful  owners.  With  a  muddy  floor, 
and  no  chimney,  without  coal  and  bankrupt,  such 
was  the  mournful  aspect  of  the  new  day  as  it  opened 
upon  this  sorrowful  group  of  children.  Her  mother 
had  drawn  all  her  pay  but  a  few  days  before  and 
now  there  seemed  no  recourse  left  but  in  some 
unlocked  for  interposition  of  God's  Providence. 

These  sudden  and  severe  changes  had  wrought  on 
her  naturally  susceptible  temperament  and  she  found 
that  aside  from  hunger,  wliich  she  not  only  had  to 
suffer  herself,  and  saw  no  way  to  abate  the  doleful 
pleadings  of  her  little  brother,  but  she  felt  feverish  and 
fef  ter  sending  her  brother  and  sister  to  school  she  lay 
down  utterly  exhausted.  During  the  forenoon  the 
countenance  of  little  Manuel  bore  unmistakable  evi- 


Severe  Illness  and  New  Home.     61 

dence  of  some  misfortune  having  crossed  his  pathway, 
arid  this  induced  Gulielma  to  question  him  closely 
as  to  the  cause  of  his  tears,  and  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  Encarnacion  to  prevent  his  revealing  their 
financial  status  he  had  no  better  thought  than  to  tell 
it  in  full. 

.  No  sooner  had  Grulielma  comprehended  their  needs 
than  she  sent  some  aid  from  the  meeting's  treasury, 
which  they  considered  a  great  favor,  and  thus  they 
were  only  obliged  to  fast  half  a  day. 

The  following  day  Angelita  found  her  'fever 
increasing  and  Grulielma  at  once  saw  that  the  rains 
would  soon  render  their  hovel  very  unhealthy  and 
perhaps  imperil  their  lives,  and  therefore  requested 
Angelita  to  come  and  stay  with  her  until  she  should 
recover,  and  she  would  also  take  care  of  her  brother 
and  sister  meanwhile. 

Angelita  was  removed  to  an  airy  bed  room  at  one 
end  of  our  porch  and  the  other  two  accommodated  in 
the  kitchen  in  the  yard.  It  was  expected  that  this 
change  would  be  temporary,  and  that  so  soon  as 
Angelita  should  recover,  some  appropriate  room  could 
be  secured  and  they  could  again  keep  house  by  them- 
selves. Her  symptoms  became  more  serious  and 
large  red  spots  on  the  skin  made  us  fear  that  she  had 
been  taken  with  small-pox,  which  had  caused  several 
deaths  among  our  members. 

This  however  proved  to  be  only  a  variety  of  fever 
which  was  of  but  a  few  days'  duration,  and  the 
change  from  a  muddy  hovel  to  an  airy  room  with  a 
plank  floor  had  been  as  useful  as  medicine  in  hasten- 
.  ing  her  recovery.  The  days  of  her  illness  had  brought 
her  into  intimate  relations  with  Gulielma  and  the 
bond  of  sympathy  seemed  to  increase  from  day  to 
day,  and  so  soon  as  she  could  be  up  about  the  room 
she  used  every  effort  to  repay  the  kind  attentions  she 
had  received  during  her  illness.  Grulielma  felt  the 
need  of  some  such  sympathizing  companion  to  aid 


62  Angelifa  <yro/r.s-  in  Grace. 

her  in  her  household  cares,  and  thus  what  AN  as 
supposed  to  be  a  brief  change  for  recoveiy  grew  into 
a  deep  and  lasting  bond  of  affection  which  was  not 
severed  even  by  her  subsequent  marriage,  though 
thenceforth  she  had  her  home  elsewhere.  Her  resi- 
dence in  the  mission  family  was  a  school  of  useful- 
ness and  notwithstanding  her  limited  education,  was 
wonderfully  improved  by  her  and  fitted  her  for  th  at 
position  which  she  afterwards  filled  in  the  Chuivh 
of  Christ. 

She  grew  in  grace  rapidly  and  began  to  accompany 
.  Gulielma  in  her  visits  to  our  members  to  give  them 
counsel  and  encouragement,  and  to  reconcile  differ- 
ences and  promote  a  harmonious  co-operation  in  the 
Lord's  work. 

It  was  customary  at  that  time  on  noting  the 
absence  of  any  member  from  our  meeting  011 
/First-day  afternoon  to  go  immediately  after  meeting 
to  see  if  they  were  sick,  or  ascertain  the  reason  of 
their  absence.  Thus  the  physical  and  moral  status 
of  the  little  circle  was  closely  watched  and  the  com- 
pany were  brought  into  near  fellowship  and  earnest- 
ness of  purpose  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work  of 
evangelization. 

Angelita  was  an  excellent  singer  and  aided  the 
mission  very  materially  in  teaching  the  children 
to  sing,  and  thus  early  train  their  minds  to  a  grate- 
ful remembrance  of  the  many  benefits  their  Heavenly 
Father  has  conferred  upon  them  in  the  Grospel  of 
Christ. 

About  an  hour  was  spent  each  day  in  this  most 
useful  exercise,  which  served  to  attract  the  children, 
and  train  their  voices,  as  well  as  impress  them  with 
a  sense  of  their  privileges  and  responsiblities.  Now 
and  then  some  travelling  member  of  some  of  our 
sister  churches  or  some  loving  sisters  from  the 
American  congregations  of  Brownsville,  Texas,  would 
take  due  care  to  enable  her  to  acquire  the  tune  of 


Usefulness  of  Gospel  Hymns.        63 

some  new  translation  of  our  familiar  Gospel  hymns 
which  by  nearly  every  mail  came  from  the  pen  of 
Thomas  M.  Westrup,  who  has  done  more  perhaps 
than  any  other  missionary  to  place  Grospel  truth 
in  the  sweet  language  of  song  before  the  evangelical 
Christians  of  Spanish  America.  The  little  hymn  book 
of  16  pages  grew  by  these  additions  very  rapidly  and 
thus  not  only  our  own  but  other  churches  were  sup- 
plied through  our  press. 

To  give  our  readers  an  idea  of  the  transformation 
Wrought  in  English  hymns  when  adapted  to  Spanish 
verse  we  present  the  following  interlineal  rendering 
of  one  strof  a  of  the  well  known  hymn  beginning, 

"WHEN  I  CAN  KEAD  MY  TITLE  CLEAK." 

1  Cuando  veo  claro  el  titulo 
When        I  see  clear      the    title 

Que  me  asegura  los  cielos, 
Which   me     secures      the    heavens, 

Digo  adios  a  mis  recelos, 
I    say    adieu    to     my       fears, 

Dejo   al    pnuto  de  llofar. 
I  leave  the     point      of  Weeping. 

This  specimen  will  suffice  to  show  that  they  are 
rather  imitations  than  translations.  Below  is  a  minia- 
ture of  the  first  page  of  our  hymn  book. 

LIRA  EYANGELICA, 

CANTlCO'l? 


Aqul  junto*  rfunidoi 
AlaMmoite,    Scnor, 
A  tun  hijoi  muy  rjiieri   0 

Adorarte  T  »'•!  arte 


6Iempr«>«a 
Tor  tu  ininfn 
;  Oh  gran  Dies  T  ccl 
Seas  rn  In  cternidad 
T6,  Srfior,  rres  Lcuiirno: 

He  tushijos  tu  rrc.  digno  ? 

Oe  recibir  el  loor.  $ 

L.  S. 


CHAPTER  X. 

FULLER  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  NATIVE  CHURCH,  AND 
ABSENCE  OF  THEIR  PASTOR.  HOW  THE  MEETINGS 
WERE  CONDUCTED.  DARKENING  POLITICAL  CLOUDS. 


business  meeting  held  on  the  5th  of  Septem- 
ber was  a  noteworthy  one.  During  the  preceding 
month  Clemente  A.  Vivero  had  removed  to 
Corpus  Christi,  Texas  where  he  was  to  preach 
until  the  meeting  of  the  Annual  Conference  at  San 
Antonio,  and  the  church  at  Matamoros  felt  under 
obligations  to  give  him  a  letter  of  recommendation. 
This  letter  was  signed  by  all  the  members  who  were 
present  and  was  the  outgrowth  of-  their  fervent 
desires  to  aid  in  helping  this  eccentric  but  in  many 
Ways  extraordinary  man  in  his  Gospel  labors.  He 
went  in  company  with  Aleio  Hernandez  who  had 
also  been  a  very  successful  evangelist  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  in  Texas,  but  had  been 
transferred  to  the  care  of  the  new  church  opened  in 
the  city  of  Mexico.  He  had  become  paralytic  and  had 
been  stopping  in  Matamoros  for  some  months  hoping 
for  relief  from  the  able  physicians  of  this  city,  but 
becoming  worse  he  returned  to  Corpus  Christi  where 
he  had  founded  the  meeting,  and  died  there  twelve 
days  after  reaching  the  place. 

One  of  the  earliest  converts  under  the  labors  of  our 
Mission  was  a  Frenchman,  who  had  been  a  strict 
Romanist,  and  from  curiosity  came  to  our  earliest 
meetings,  but  being  very  clearly  impressed  with  the 

65  F 


fja        Uf/.s/7/r.s.s-  Mediums  in  Mexico. 

Truth  he  embraced  it  with  earnestness  and  took 
quite  an  active  part  in  our  business  meetings.  He  had 
noticed  that  the  frequent  changes  in  the  Junta  de 
r>en<'ficencia,  were  rather  prejudicial  than  otherwise 
and  by  reading  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  found 
that  they  called  those  appointed  to  this  work  deacons 
and  seemed  to  have  made  no  limitation  of  time  of 
service.  He  proposed  that  this  change  be  made  and 
the  church  be  thus  more  perfectly  made  a  reproduc- 
tion of  the  apostolic  church.  The  members  at  once 
took  the  matter  into  serious  and  prayerful  delibera- 
tion, several  passages  of  the  New  Testament  touching 
upon  the  duties  and  qualifications  of  those  appointed 
to  official  stations  in  the  early  church  were  considered: 
and  then  the  meeting  decided  that  being  a  matter  of 
considerable  importance  and  requiring  much  care  in 
the  selection  of  the  proper  person  or  persons  to  fill 
these  stations  permanently  it  would  be  best  to  leave 
the  matter  open  until  next  meeting. 

In  the  meeting  held  October  4th,  1875  the  proposi- 
tion of  Bernardo  de  Lapuyade  was  again  very 
prayerfully  considered  and  as  it  was  also  deemed 
necessary  for  the  deacon  or  deacons  to  co-operate 
with  the|minister  in  the  pastoral  care  of  the  flock,  the 
members  had  fixed  their  attention  on  the  qualifica- 
tions of  Agustin  Gronzalefc  and  he  was  appointed  six 
months  on  trial,  and  if  the  church  then  deemed  best 
was  to  be  considered  permanently  appointed.  At  this 
second  meeting  the  necessity  of  appointing  -elders 
to  co-operate  with  the  minister  and  deacon  in  the 
care  of  the  flock  was  brought  forward.  These  appoint- 
ments were  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the  meeting 
more  particularly  by  the  ill  health  of  their  pastor. 

I  had  suffered  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia  the 
preceding  winter  and  thus  the  delicate  condition  of  my 
lungs  had  by  the  constant  exercise  in  preaching  so 
as  to  be  heard  clearly  by  the  crowds  gathering  near 
our  doors  and  windows,  given  rise  to  a  severe  attack 


Appointment  of  Elders.  67 

of  asthma,  and  it  seemed  evident  that  rest  and 
absence  from  this  region  of  sudden  and  violent 
atmospheric  changes  would  be  necessary,  and  the 
young  flock  remain  without  a  preacher.  The  appoint- 
ment of  elders  was  left  for  consideration  for  another 
month,  when  Pedro  de  los  Santos  and  Jesus  Valdez 
were  appointed  for  six  months,  it  being  a  very 
general  opinion  that  there  were  at  that  time  no 
persons  sufficiently  mature  in  their  religious  experi- 
ence to  be  appointed  permanently  as  elders  of  the 
flock. 

Thus  did  the  little  church  arrange  with  due  care 
and  in  the  reverent  fear  of  the  Lord,  to  work  togeth- 
er for  mutual  edification  during  the  absence  of  one 
whom  they  had  looked  upon  as  their  instructor  in 
the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

A  letter  of  recommendation  to  the  pastors  of  other 
evangelical  churches  and  also  to  the  people  at  large 
was  prepared  by  the  clerk,  Jesus  Mireles,  and  signed 
by  nearly  all  the  members  of  our  meeting.  We  had  at 
that  time  but  few  members  who  could  not  read  and 
write,  and  we  have  not  been  able  to  make  much 
progress  among  the  more  ignorant  and  debased  class 
of  people.  It  is  the  investigating  class  of  people,  whose 
minds  have  loosed  the  moorings  which  bound  them 
to  the  bund  creed  of  Rome,  who  have  been  most 
ready  to  rceive  Gospel  in  this  land. 

Whilst  the  tender  interest  of  the  members  of  the 
little  church  had  thus  made  provision  for  the  care 
and  instruction  of  the  flock,  the  welfare  of  Grulielma 
was  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  Angelita 
became  more  than  ever  her  bosom  friend  and  co-la- 
borer in  the  household  and  in  the  work  of  the  church. 
.  The  meetings  were  kept  up  in  my  absence,  the 
.exercises  consisting  chiefly  of  the  reading  of  Scrip- 
ture passages  and  expositions,  mostly  from  printed 
works,  the  exercises  of  prayer  being  mostly  by  Jesus 
Mireles  and  Agustin  Gonzalez. 


68  Voyttyc  to  Tanti>ico. 

The  reader  will  pardon  a  digression,  and  be  ready 
to  follow  me  in  a  hurried  sketch  of  my  journey. 

There  was  at  that  time  no  line  of  steamers  enira^.-d 
in  the  coasting  trade,  which  was  limited  to  supplying 
Matamoros  with    tropical    fruits.  There   were   t\v<> 
vessels  making  occasional  trips,  and  on  one  of  these, 
-      .    ...  "Los  Tres  Hermanos"  of  16  tons 

burden,  and  drawing  about  two 
feet  eight  inches  of  water,  I  had 
the  rare  good  fortune  to  secure  a 
;  passage  to  Tampico.  We  raised 
anchor,  or  rather  loosed  our  rop- 
ing from  a  point  known  as  "El 
Muelle,"  "The  Wharf,"  though 
nothing  marked  the  site  but  the  name,  and  that  was 
wanting.  We  were  three  days  descending  the  Rio 
Grande  to  Bagdad,  a  land  distance  of  32  miles,  but 
by  the  river  channel  three  times  that  distance.  Here 
our  little  craft  was  detained  four  days  by  contrary 
winds,  when  we  were  able .  to  cross  the  bar  and 
began  our  voyage  over  the  rough  waves  of  winter  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  was  on  the  22d  of  December 
1875,  and  we  were  six  days  in  running  down  the 
coast  to  Tampico,  though  in  a  favorable  time  the 
journey  is  made  in  48  hours.  The  weather  was 
beautiful,  but  the  wind  was  contrary,  and  the  sea 
voyage  worked  wonders  in  restoring  my  broken 
health. 

The  day  I  had  left  Matamoros,  a  native  helper  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  (North)  had  left  Mexico 
city  for  Tampico,  and  the  day  we  crossed  the  bar  at 
Bagdad  his  steamship  left  the  wharf  at  Veracruz. 
He  reached  Tampico  five  days  before  us. 

On  this  journey  I  was  accompanied  by  Calixto 
Lara  as  colporteur,  and  as  we  had  a  large  supply  of 
books  and  tracts,  although  my  chief  object  was 
the  restoration  of  my  health,  yet  we  were  prepared 
for  active  work  in  extending  the  Gospel.  Our  col- 


Permanence  in  Tampico.          69 

porteur  was  sustained  by  Friends  of  Baltimore  Year- 
ly Meeting.  This  journey  laid  in  some  measure  the 
foundation  for  the  great  work  since  accomplished  by 
our  Southern  Mission. 

So  soon  as  the  place  of  worship  was  arranged,  I 
joined  Pedro  Trujillo,  the  native  helper,  in  opening 
meetings,  and  thus  my  whole  stay  in  that  city  was 
an  active  effort  to  aid  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
mission  now  sustained  in  that  port  by  the  Associated 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church. 

Near  the  city  of  Tampico  are  the  ruins  of  several 
cities  pertaining  to  the  ancient  Huastec  kingdom, 
and  I  had  hoped  to  visit  them  and  collect  some  of 
the  interesting  specimens  of  antiquity  which  abound 
among  the  debris  of  their  ruined  pyramids. 

Early  one  morning  we  entered  a  canoe,  and  began 
running  up  the  Tamesi  river,  intending  to  land  at 
Altamira.  Our  canoe  seemed  to  open  its  way  amid 
the  countless  multitudes  of  water  fowl  which  were 
wintering  in  this  delightful  region,  the  banks  were 
studded  with  tropical  verdure,  abounding  in  gay 
flowers,  whilst  birds  quite  as  brilliant  in  color  were 
flitting  about  amid  the  dense  verdure. 

On  the  way  we  stopped  at  a  ranch  where  we  hired 
horses  and  a  guide  in  order  to  visit  the  ruins  on  Sierra 
de  la  Palma,  27  miles  from  Altamira.  Our  guide 
swam  his  horses  across  the  river  and  went  by  land 
to  meet  us  at  Tancol  where  we  were  to  pass  the  night. 
The  day  had  been  cold,  a  brisk  north  wind  was 
blowing,  and  a  chilly  rain- kept  us  saturated,  thus 
we  passed  the  night  without  bedding,  in  a  reed  hu.t 
which  had  never  been  plastered,  and  we  awoke  next 
morning  with  a  burning  tropical  fever,  and  had  to 
abandon  our  journey  and  return  to  Tampico  for 
medical  treatment.  I  had  especially  hoped  to  obtain 
some  of  the  small  clay  idols  which  abound  in  these 
ruins,  and  which  are  so  thoroughly  burned  that  300 
to  500  years  of  exposure  to  the  moist  tropical  soil 


70       Interesting  Jfnastec  liemautx. 

and  the  shade  of  tropical  vegetation  have  not  injured 
them  in  the  least.  On  my  return  to  Tampico  a  pious 
Christian  lady  who  was  interested  in  my  remaining 

as  long  as  possible  in  the 
city  in  order  to  help  in  the 
good  work,  presented  me 
with  one  of  these  idols  in 
order  to  remove  all  desire  to 
visit  the  ruins.  This  idol  is 
ynow  in  the  cabinet  of  Earl- 
\  ham  College,  at  Richmond 
Ind.  The  accompanying 
cut  represents  one  of  the 
most  perfect  specimens  yet 
found  and  is  in  the  collec- 
tion of  Alejandro  Prieto, 
the  historian.  With  the 
exception  of  the  shortness 
of  the  forearm  the  figure 
is  pretty  well  proportioned. 
There  is  quite  a  diversity 
of  opinion  among  antiqua- 
rians as  to  the  true  nature 
of  these  clay  images.  Some 
are  inclined  to  look  u£on 
them  as  symbolical  me- 
mentoes of  the  person  in 
whose  grave  they  had  been  interred.  These  clay  im- 
ages are  found  in  the  places  of  interment,  which 
were  orderly  in  their  arrangement  and  decoration. 
s  These  were  but  a  trifle  larger  than  our  cut,  and 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  massive  stone  idols; 
which  were  placed  on  the  summits  of  their  pyramids. 
I  saw  two  of  the  latter  in  Tampico,  but  was  not 
inclined  to  purchase  or  pay  freight  on  them.  One  of 
the  latter  class  is  represented  at  the  close  of  this 
chapter.  It  was  whilst  engaged  in  these  investigations? 
that  I  prepared  my  "Child's  History  of  Mexico,"  a 


HUASTEC  CLAY   IMAGE. 


Motives  of  my  Return  Home.        71 

work  which  has  been  abundantly  useful  in  combating 
idolatry  in  all  its  forms,  aside  from  its  utility  as  a 
text  book  for  schools.  About  5,000  copies  have  been 
put  into  circulation. 

The  darkening  political  clouds,  and  the  news  that 
(reii.  Porfirio  Diaz,  who  had  escaped  from  the  coun- 
try, was  at  Brownsville,  Texas,  made  me  hasten 
home  at  once,  as  Matamoros  would  be  the  probable 
point  of  attack,  and  I  was  desirous  of  joining  my 
wife  and  the  little  church  in  the  hour  of  trial. 


MEXICAN  STONE  IDOL. 


shoVvipg  flatted  type  of  llza  apd  tiliatfea  Images 


CHAPTER  XL 

ANXIETY  OF  GULIELMA  FROM  BOTH  REASONS,  MY  AB- 
SENCE, AND  THE  THREATENING  REVOLUTION.  ARRIVAL 

HOME.  THE  STORMING  OF  MATAMOROS.  TRIALS  DU- 
RING THE  OCCUPATION  OF  THE  CITY,  UNTIL  THU 
ENTRY  OF  GENERAL  ESCOBEDO, 

will  take  a  glance  at  the  household  in  Mata- 
moros  in  the  latter  part  of  February  1876.  Th& 
mails  had  failed  to  bring  for  some  days  any 
tidings  of  the  absent  one,  and  the  impression 
left  by  the  last  letters  was  that  I  would  embark  on 
the  first  sloop  up  the  coast.  News  had  reached  the 
city  that  the  "Alba"  of  19  tons  burden,  loaded  with 
300  bunches  of  bananas,  50  pine 
apples  and  seven  passengers,  had 
left  Tampico  for  Matamoros,  but 
had  failed  to  reach  her  destination, 
the  anxiety  led  to  rumors  and  it 
was  noised  abroad  that  she  had 

,  „  been  shipwrecked.  It  is  quite  prob- 
Hompward  bound  on  the    Alba.       i-,     ,-,        ,-,      -,.   -,  ,  *,  ,. 

able  that  the  light-house  keeper  at 

the  mouth  of  the  Panuco  river  had  seen  us  driven 
past  by  a  furious  gale  which  it  seemed  impossible 
for  such  a  craft  to  survive.  We  had  been  obliged  to 
seek  safety  in  the  roads  to  the  leeward  of  Lobos  Island, 
near  Cape  Roxo,  where  the  coral  reefs  permitted  us 
to  anchor  in  safety. 

Glulielma  had  not  given  way  to  undue  alarm,  and 
waited  patiently  for  further  news. 

It  was  noon  of  a  most  beautiful  day,  the  28  th  of 
February,  and  the  prairies  around  the  city  were  now 

73 


74  Arrival  at  Jfatamorou. 

covered  with  immense  beds  of  verbenas,  whilst  a 
beautiful  pink  flower  seemed  to  rival  the  former  in 
abundance  and  beauty. 

Gulielma  had  made  a  call  on  most  of  our  members 
that  morning,  and  had  invited  the  girls  and  young 
ladies  to  accompany  her  in  the  afternoon,  in  a  walk 
outside  the  city  walls,  to  enjoy  the  fresh  breeze  of  the 
plains,  and  the  invigorating  view  of  the  spring 
flowers. 

At  noon  the  owner  of  the  buildings,  who  kept  a 
hotel  down  town,  called  in  to  inform  her  that  the 
missing  sloop,  had  reached  Bagdad,  that  her  husband 
was  on  board,  and  that  most  of  the  passengers  had 
already  reached  the  city,  and  that  I  might  arrive  at 
'any  moment. 

Soon  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  young  ladies  and 
school  girls  had  gathered  for  the  picnic,  and  on 
hearing  the  report  there  was  a  division  of  sentiment, 
some  thinking  it  time,  and  others  that  it  was  a  flying 
rumor,  and  so  about  half  of  the  company  went  to  cull 
flowers  on  the  plains,  whilst  the  others  remained 
with  Gulielma,  awaiting  my  arrival. 

The  sun  was  fast  sinking  in  the  western  horizon, 
the  party  had  become  tired  of  rambling  over  the 
plains  and  had  just  arrived  under  the  back  porch, 
Gulielma  was  entering  the  sitting  roam  to  arrange 
the  repast  which  they  had  intended  to  partake  in 
the  shade  of  the  mesquite  trees  on  the  prairie,  when 
we  both  entered  the  same  room  by  opposite  doors, 
and  the  whole  circle  was  aroused,  and  the  simple 
feast  was  mingled  with  the  unbounded  joy  of  so 
happy  and  scarcely  expected  an  occurrence. 

The  girls  soon  hurried  home  to  tell  their  parents, 
and  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  meeting  called  in 
before  bed-time  to  welcome  back  their  pastor,  rejoiced 
at  his  greatly  improved  health. 

The  girls'  school  was  re-opened  and  Angelita  be- 
came associated  with  Gulielma  in  its  management, 


Outbreak  of  the  Revolution.  75 

and  later  in  the  season  became  its  teacher.  A  few 
small  boys  were  admitted,  being  all  that  there  were 
at  that  time  of  the  children  of  our  members. 

The  threatening  political  clouds  did  not  delay  in 
gathering,  and  on  the  2d  of  March,  only  three  days 
after  my  return,  Matamoros  was  declared  to  be  in  a 
state  of  siege,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  leave  the 
city  without  a  passport.  Gen.  Diaz  remained  in 
Brownsville,  and  whether  there  was  any  organized 
forces  on  the  plains  west  of  the  city  or  not  was  the 
subject  of  m6st  contradictory  reports.  It  is  true  that 
a  merchant  of  Brownsville,  who  had  been  virtually 
banished  from  Mexico  for  his  participation  in  the 
Empire  of  Maximilian,  had  organized  a  squad  of  men, 
who  soon  after  took  the  little  village  of  Reynosa  and 
after  levying  a  forced  loan  on  the  inhabitants  had 
approached  Matamoros.  At  Palo  Blanco  they  had 
been  met  by  Gen.  Diaz  who  there  reformed  the  plan 
of  his  proposed  revolution,  but  a  difference  of  opinion 
led  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  merchant  who  had 
headed  the  adventurers  up  to  that  .time. 

It  was  now  known  that  Gen.  Diaz  had  obtained  a 
loan  and  that  he  was  giving  his  troops  50  cents  per  N 
day,  thus  many  of  the  poor  people  out  of  employ- 
ment began  crossing  to  Brownsville,  from  whence 
they  could  pass  over  to  the  revolutionary  party,  who 
were  engaged  in  smuggling  arms  and  ammunition 
across  the  river  some  miles  above  Brownsville.  The 
reports  as  to  the  number  of  troops  thus  organized 
were  so  contradictory  that  no  reliance  could  be  placed 
on  the  current  rumors.  The  National  Guards,  or 
state  militia,  were  mustered  and  kept  in  order,  whilst 
active  preparations  were  carried  on  by  Gen.  La  Barra 
for  the  defense  of  the  city,  the  cannons  were  placed 
on  the  earthworks  which  surround  the  city  on  the 
west  and  south,  and  there  seemed  no  doubt  but 
that  the  government  troops  within  the  city  were  too 
numerous  and  well  drilled  to  expect  an  early  attack, 


;>;         Storming  of  Matamoros. 

Some  reports  placed  the  outside  party  at  300  and 
others  at  500,  whilst  the  government  troops  of 
infantry,  artillery  and  cavalry  were  about  700  strong, 
and  the  city  troops  or  National  Guard  consisted  of 
1,000  men. 

Yet  on  March  31st  at  a  little  before  sunset  a 
reconnoitering  force  of  150  men,  headed  by  General 
Diaz  made  a  feint  of  attack,  and  filled  the  city  with 
consternation,  the  stores  being  closed  and  doors 
barred  awaiting  the  struggle.  After  taking  a  distant 
view  of  the  earthworks  these  forces  retired  and  order 
was  restored,  the  stores  opened  again  the  same  night, 
and  Saturday,  April  1st  was  passed  without  any 
alarm,  the  foreign  residents  had  not  been  warned  to 
leave  the  city  and  it  was  apparent  that  no  immediate 
attack  was  expected. 

Sabbath  morning,  April  2d,  was  a  beautiful  sunny 
morning,  all  was  quiet,  the  city  was  now  void  of  fear, 
the  conflicting  reports  were  not  relied  upon,  and  the 
mustering  of  the  inside  forces  with  the  ostensible 
object  of  scouring  the  plain  and  driving  away  the 
enemy,  had  scarcely  been  noticed  by  the  people  in 
general.  We  had  just  done  breakfast  when  one  of  our 
ejderly  members  called  for  a  few  minutes,  and  as  he 
was  about  to  leave  I  asked  him  what  was  the  news, 
and  he  said  that  it  was  rumored  that  the  outside 
party  would  attack  the  city  that  day.  As  he  left  we 
accompanied  him  to  the  street  door,  and  were  still 
looking  out  on  the  street  where  he  had  turned  the 
first  corner,  when  suddenly  the  clash  of  closing  doors 
resounded  like  rolling  thunder  all  around  us.  We  were 
looking  westward  toward  the  Monterey  gate,  when 
in  the  dim  distance  amid  the  thick  clouds  of  dust 
we  could  discern  the  cavalry  rushing  down  our  street 
with  drawn  arms,  whilst  a  shower  of  balls  went 
hissing  down  the  street.  So  sudden  had  been  the 
attack,  and  so  unintelligible  the  confused  noise  of  war, 
that  in  the  few  moments  we  had  been  standing  in 


Storming  of  Matamoros.  77 

the  door- way  Col.  Parrat  of  the  inside  cavalry  had 
reached  the  corner  of  the  street,  not  40  feet  from  us, 
and  having  already  lost  his  hat,  whirled  his  horse 
two  or  three  times  around,  uncertain  which  street  to 
take  for  safety.  He  finally  took  the  north  end  of 
Ninth  Street  for  Santa  Cruz,  and  we  having  fully 
comprehended  our  situation,  closed  the  door  and 
running  out  at  our  back  door,  crossed  the  yard  to 
our  printing  office,  a  small  brick  structure  on  Ninth 
Street.  We  had  scarcely  reached  this  place  of  greater 
safety  when  the  troops  of  Gen.  Diaz  came  past  the 
office  with  drawn  swords,  fighting  back  the  govern- 
ment troops,  the  terrible  noise  of  clashing  arms  and 
the  discharge  of  musketry  being  only  separated  from 
us  by  the  inch  doors  and  delicate  window  shutters. 

We  withdrew  to  the  back  room  of  the  printing 
office  and  took  our  position  where  brick  walls  would 
intercept  the  balls,  and  waited  with  almost  breathless 
anxiety  the  termination  of  the  struggle.  The  compa- 
ny consisted  of  the  widow  Aguilar  and  her  three 
children,  my  wife  .and  an  orphan  girl  of  eight  years, 
and  our  pressman  and  myself. 

It  was  not  so  much  our  own  peril  as  the  thought 
of  the  carnage  in  the  streets,  and  a  deep  sympathy 
with  the  sufferings  necessarily  incident  to  the  storm- 
ing of  the  city.  Gulielma  fainted  twice,  and  suffered 
from  chills  produced  by  fear,  from  which  she  did  not 
recover  for  some  months,  The  others  were  nearly  as 
much  frightened,  and  the  trial  and  anxiety  of  that 
hour  and  a  half  of  suspense  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  any  one  of  our  trembling  little  group.  The  noise 
finally  ceased  and  soon  the  bell  of  the  Catholic  Church 
sounded  forth  the  note  of  victory,  victory  to  the 
forces  of  Gren,  Diaz,  but  told  us  that  our  city  had 
surrendered.  We  had  not  even  bolted  the  doors  of 
our  residence  and  meeting  rooms  at  No.  49  Calle  de 
Bravo  and  as  the  thin  wooden  structure  was  very 
insecure  we  expected  that  what  valuables  we  had 


78  Storm-inf/  of  Matamorox. 

would  either  be  stolen  by  the  troops,  or  by  the  city 
thieves  who  would  take  advantage  of  the  disorder  to 
steal  with  impunity. 

\Ve  had  just  reached  the  back  porch  of  our  rooms, 
and  were  entering  a  bed  room  at  one  end  of  the  porch 
when  we  heard  the  sudden  blow  of  a  ball,  which 
1'iitered  the  room  at  the  opposite  side  and  passing 
through  a  framed  photograph,  splintering  the  glass 
into  fragments,  struck  the  opposite  wall  from  which 
it  took  a  rebound  and  fell  on  the  bed  only  three  feet 
from  us,  throwing  splinters  from  both  walls  over  our 
heads,  through  the  open  door- way.  Almost  simulta- 
neous was  the  noise  of  a  full  discharge  in  line  from 
both  contending  forces,  followed  in  a  few  moments 
by  the  deafening  roar  of  artillery.  The  bell  of  victory 
had  been  premature,  the  more  faithful  troops  having 
taken  refuge  in  the  powder  magazine,  where  they 
made  a  most  determined  resistance  for  over  an  hour, 
to  a  deadly  fire  of  grape  and  canister  at  close  range. 

With  the  first  discharge  we  rushed  into  the  main 
building,  the  walls  being  of  two  inch  plank,  and 
throwing  our  straw  bed  against  the  wall  as  an 
additional  protection,  lay  down  on  the  floor  awaiting 
the  end  of  the  struggle.  The  dull  thud  of  spent  balls 
and  the  deep  roar  of  artillery  were  more  terrible  than 
the  first  onslaught,  but  there  was  relief  in  a  myste- 
rious adaptability  which  in  a  measure  destroys  fear, 
by  a  surplus  of  fear,  I  might  say  a  physical  insensi- 
bility to  danger,  such  as  the  soldiers  speak  of  feeling 
when  in  battle,  akin  to  that  of  Dr.  Livingstone  when 
shaken  by  the  South  African  lion.  I  had  experienced 
a  similar  feeling  when  the  wild  waves  washed  the 
deck  of  the  "Alba,"  and  partially  dismantled  we  were 
hourly  expecting  a  watery  grave. 

It  was  not  valor,  though  the  latter  had  led  us  to 
stand  by  our  flock  in  that  hour.  Valor  is  only  possible 
when  the  mind  is  in  its  normal  state.  In  the  rush  of 
battle  and  amid  the  clamor  and  anguish  of  the  suffer- 


Storming  of  Matamoros.  7(j 

ing  victims,  pallor  marks  the  face  even  of  the  boldest, 
and  this  insensibility  to  danger  alone  makes  it  possi- 
ble for  men  to  stand  in  the  deadly  combat;  the  same 
feeling  overpowers  the  humblest  resident,  as  his 
house  seems  the  centre  of  danger,  and  he  knows  not 
what  a  moment  may  bring  forth. 

The  bell  again  sounded  forth  the  note  of  victory, 
the  streets  became  quiet,  in  fact  they  seemed  deserted, 
and  some  time  elapsed  ere  the  doors  and  windows 
were  opened  and  people  began  to  look  out  upon  the 
street.  When  we  did  so,  we  saw  a  boy  ride  past  on  a 
beautiful  horse,  which  was  bleeding  from  a  ghastly 
wound  in  the  thigh,  one  of  the  incidents  in  the 
confusion  of  the  hour. 

That  afternoon  a  small  company  gathered  at  the 
usual  hour,  to  thank  God  for  his  watchful  care  over 
them  and  their  families  in  that  trying  hour. 

Gen.  Diaz  was  aware  that  any  delay  would  be 
likely  to  bring  upon  him  an  overpowering  force,  and 
determined  at  once  to  march  upon  Monterey.  He 
determined  to  take  the  National  Guard  (militia)  as 
infantry,  and  what  troops  had  surrendered,  and 
hasten  forward.  The  National  Guard  consisted  of 
undrilled  troops,  and  having  taken  a  route  very 
scantily  supplied  with  water,  sun-stroke  and  thirst 
soon  thinned  their  ranks,  and  finding  that  he  would 
be  obliged  to  avoid  the  enemy,  he  sent  the  infantry 
back  as  it  was  an  impediment  to  his  march. 

We  shall  never  forget  the  day  these  troops  left  the 
city,  and  the  wives,  sisters  and  mothers  of  the 
conscripts  grouped  along  the  street  to  take  what 
might  be  last  look  at  their  dear  ones,  who  were  not 
permitted  to  take  a  formal  parting  from  their  families. 
The  voice  of  plaintive  wailing  resounded  from  house 
to  house,  and  many  who  had  thus  lost  their  only 
support,  had  not  even  food  for  a  single  day,  and 
could  expect  nothing  until  a  final  victory  should  be 
attained,  and  few  if  any  were  ever  to  receive  any 


80  Military  Reverses. 

compensation  whatever.  Hundreds  of  families  were 
thus  thrown  into  the  jaws  of  famine,  eking  out  a 
miserable  existence  in  the  most  menial  services. 

In  a  few  weeks  those  conscripts  who  di<J  not  perish 
from  thirst,  had  either  crossed  over  into  Texas  as 
deserters,  or  had  returned  in  disorder  to  Matamoros. 
Efforts  were  made  by  Gen.  Manuel  Gonzalez  *  for 
the  city's  defense,  forced  loans  were  levied,  the  earth- 
works were  being  placed  in  order,  laborers  were 
pressed  to  work  on  the  fortifications  and  we  were 
expecting  soon  all  the  horrors  of  a  bombardment,  as 
Gen.  Escobedo  who  led  the  government  troops  had 
heavy  artillery  with  him,  and  Gen.  Diaz  who  had 
avoided  his  march  and  had  hastened  to  attack  Gen. 
Fuero,  had  been  defeated  and  his  troops  dispersed  at 
the  battle  of  Hicamole. 

During  all  this  time  our  day  school  was  kept  up, 
the  meetings  were  usually  attended  by  all  or  nearly 
all  of  our  members,  thus  our  permanence  among  them 
in  the  hour  of  trial  and  danger,  and  our  counsels  to 
them  to  avoid  being  drawn  into  the  current  of 
political  events,  gave  as  a  result  an  increase  in  number 
and  a  closer  union  of  the  body.  Only  one  member 
had  been  conscripted,  and  he  was  never  engaged  in 
actual  combat,  whilst  but  one  accepted  a  position  in 
the  Custom  House  under  the  Diaz  government. 

L 

Now,  1883,  President  of  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

OCCUPATION  OF  THE  CITY  BY  (TEN.  ESCOBEDO.  PRO- 
LONGED SIEGE,  WITH  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  MISSION 
CHUECH  DURING  THE  SUMMER  OF  1876. 

day  to  day  the  alarm  grew  more  intense, 
and  the  fears  of  bombardment  became  more 
imminent,  so  that  every  effort  was  made  to 
prepare  for  the  defense  of  the  city.  It  was  in  this 
state  of  dread  that  the  people  of  Matamoros  retired 
to  rest  on  the  night  of  the  16th  of  May,  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  plan  devised  by  Gen.  Gonzalez,  and 
when  we  arose  in  the  morning,  to  behold  the  street 
lamps  still  burning,  it  was  some  time  ere  we  could 
believe  that  at  3  A.  M.,  Gren.  Gonzalez  had  evacuated 
the  city,  taking  with  him  not  only  the  National 
Guards  but  also  the  police  force  and  night  watchmen, 
so  that  we  were  without  any  of  the  ordinary  means 
of  public  security.  Gen.  Gonzalez  had  requested  the 
foreign  ambassadors  to  care  for  the  peace  and  order 
of  the  city,  and  after  thousands  of  dollars  had  been 
spent  in  repairing  the  earthworks  and  deepening  the 
trench  to  [protect  the  city,  full  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  peaceful  entry  of  Gen.  Escobedo,  with 
his  army  of  3,000  men,  and  heavy  pieces  of  artillery. 
All  the  arms  and  munitions  of  war  were  taken  by 
Gen.  Gonzalez  who  marched  toward  San  Fernando. 
During  the  day  of  the  17th  the  City  Fathers  were 
called  together,  not  now  the  public  officers,  but  the 

81  G 


82  Revolutionary  Incidents. 

merchants,  lawyers  and  professional  men,  who  were 
to  form  the  Public  Security,  each  store  was  to  furnish 
one  clerk,  mounted  on  horseback,  as  a  patrol,  to  take 
the  place  of  the  police  and  night  watchmen.  This 
last  resort  of  government  knows  no  nationality,  most 
of  the  merchants  being  foreigners,  as  also  the  clerks 
who  formed  the  patrol.  This  form  of  government 
needed  no  treasury,  as  the  quota  of  each  store  was  in 
mounted  clerks,  who  were  supposed  to  represent  and 
protect  the  property  of  their  employers  in  common 
and  in  combination  with  their  fellow  citizens.  It  would 
seem  however  that  among  troops,  police,  watchmen 
and  deserters,  all  the  bad  people  had  left  the  city,  and 
no  act  of  violence  or  robbery  took  place  during  the 
brief  and  patriarchal  rule  of  the  Public  Security. 

As  we  have  already  stated  only  one  of  our  members- 
had  been  conscripted  and  one  had  accepted  a  position 
in  the  Custom  House,  and  both  of  these  now  crossed 
over  to  Brownsville,  and  remained  there  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  The  remainder  of  our  members  kept  aloof 
from  the  revolution  and  quietly  followed  their  usual 
avocations  without  interruption.  This  was  mainly  due 
to  our  teaching  the  peaceable  nature  of  the  Grospel 
of  Christ,  that  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  and 
therefore  his  servants  cannot  fight  with  carnal 
weapons.  Another  mission  established  on  the  frontier 
taught  the  same  truth  under  many  qualifying  terms, 
its  pastor  was  absent  collecting  funds  to  assist  in 
building  a  chapel,  one  native  helper  was  also  absent 
for  his  health,  and  the  church  was  under  the  direction 
of  another  native  helper,  and  the  elders  and  deacons. 
All  of  these  were  drawn  into  the  tide  of  political 
ebullition,  one  of  the  deacons  was  sergeant,  one  of  the 
elders  accepted  a  commission  as  colonel  and  the 
preacher  presented  his  name  for  a  eaptainrs  commis- 
sion, another  elder  had  become  accomplice  in  the 
desertion  of  his  son,  thus  when  Gen.  Escobedo* 
came  along  all  of  these  had  to  take  refuge  irr 


Incidents  in  Mission  Work.        83 

Texas  and  thus  all  the  work  was  suspended  until 
the  other  native  helper  could  return,  and  but  little 
could  be  done  until  the  establishment  of  peace  in 
February  of  the  following  year  permitted  the  return 
of  the  church  officials  to  their  homes,  so  as  to  resume 
their  duties  in  the  care  and  oversight  of  the  church. 
This  is  an  evidence  of  the  practical  working  of  peace 
principles  in  so  warlike  country  as  Mexico  had  been  ' 
up  to  that  date. 

The  day  school  continued  in  care  of  Angelita,  who 
usually  opened  the  school  with  prayer,  and  aside  from 
the  Catechism  lesson  she  was  very  useful  in  teaching 
her  pupils  by  a  direct  application  of  Bible  truths.  On 
noticeing  this  unfolding  of  a  gift  which  might  make 
her  greatly  useful  to  the  church,  I  determined  to 
translate  and  issue  the  Journal  of  J-ane  Hoskens, 
which  is  full  of  such  humble  aspirations  to  be  led  by 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  his  service,  that  it  would  be 
greatly  useful  to  her  in  this  period  of  small  service 
in  the  Master's  cause.  This  work  was  warmly  appre- 
ciated by  the  Methodist  missionaries,  who  aided 
greatly  in  its  circulation. 

Angelita  accompanied  Gulielma  in  her  visits  to  the 
families  of  our  members,  and  was  very  useful  in 
giving  counsel,  and  in  admonishing  the  erring  ones, 
as  well  as  in  inviting  those  who  felt  desirous  of  inves- 
tigating to  attend  our  meetings  and  listen  to  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  She  was  of  a  timid  nature, 
and  it  was  difficult  for  her  to  labor  except  in  a  social 
way  or  in  family  calls,  but  her  labors  in  this  sphere 
were  abundantly  useful  to  the  infant  church. 

Gulielma's  health  was  greatly  broken  by  the  ner- 
vous shock  caused  by  the  storming  of  Matamoros  by 
the  forces  of  Gen.  Diaz,  and  among  those  consulted 
was  an  aged  woman  whose  treatment  in  such  cases 
had  been  useful  to  many.  She  bad  long  been  a  strict 
Romanist,  and  was  quite  profane  and  quarrelsome 
with  her  neighbors,  and  at  87  years  of  age  we  had 


84         Conversion  of  Petra  Garza. 

no  thought  of  her  conversion.  On  one  occasion  when 
she  called  in  the  ministers  of  both  missions  "\\viv 
engaged  in  a  weekly  prayer  meeting,  and  fearing 
that  our  exercises  would  disturb  her,  Angelita  took 
her  to  the  school  room  in  order  to  entertain  her 
until  our  prayer  meeting  should  close.  She  began  to 
ask  Angelita  the  object  of  our  gathering,  and  as  she 
overheard  the  singing  of  a  hymn  was  much  pleased 
with  it.  Angelita  invited  her  to  attend  our  public 
meetings,  which  she  promised  to  do.  This  was  the  first 
step  which  led  to  the  conversion  of  Petra  Garza  de 
Mendez,  the  closing  years  of  whose  lif  e  were  to  show 
forth  in  a  wondrous  manner  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  to  redeem  even  those  who  might  seem  to  be 
immovably  fixed  in  the  superstitious  ideas  which  for 
more  than  fourscore  years  she  had  held  as  her  hope 
of  salvation. 

A  woman  living  near  her  home  had  a  Bible  and 
by  invitation  of  this  aged  lady  would  go  to  read  the 
Bible  to  her,  and  both  were  led  by  its  influence  to 
a  full  acceptance  of  the  Protestant  faith. 

Not  long  after  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  Gen. 
Escobedo  a  large  body  of  his  troops  went  in  pursuit 
of  Gen.  Gonzalez,  thus  the  troops  for  the  defence  of 
the  city  were  reduced,  and  Gen.  Cortina  who  had 
escaped  from  his  detention  as  prisoner  at  the  city  of 
Mexico,  had  organized  his  followers  and  began  to 
scour  the  plains  and  at  times  to  attack  the  city. 

One  night  as  we  were  sitting  in  our  room,  occupied 
in  our  several  tasks,  my  own  being  as  usual  that  of 
translation,  a  sudden  and  terrific  crash  was  heard, 
and'  in  a  moment  we  bounded  to  where  we  could 
have  the  protection  of  a  double  planking  from  the 
the  balls  which  were  coming  in  profusiQn  and  with 
stunning  force.  The  first  crash  was  however  the 
only  one  which  entered  our  building.  An  ounce  ball 
had  passed  over  our  heads  at  an  elevation  of  about 
two  feet  above  them,  when  striking  against  a  thick 


A  Quaker  Fort  in  Mexico.          85 

sheet  of  tin  and  just  over  the  wire  band  at  its  edge, 
had  bounded  back  into  the  middle  of  the  floor,  barely 
missing  us  in  the  rebound.  The  dread  roar  of  one  of 
the  long  field  pieces  made  the  enemy  retire  and  the 
firing  ceased* 

Nearly  every  cloudy  night  or  foggy  morning  these 
attacks  were  renewed,  and  as  balls  were  falling  all 
around  our  buildings  we  prepared  a  small  room  the 
sides  of  which  were  protected  by  benches,  planking, 
bedding,  and  such  useful  books  as  presented  a  con- 
siderable surface  to  protect  us  from  the  stray  balls. 
We  had  it  thus  barricaded  to  a  height  of  about  four 
feet  from  the  floor,  and  so  soon  as  we  heard  the  dis- 
charge of  musketry  we  went  into  this  room  and  lying 
down  upon  the  floor,  were  comparatively  free  from 
danger.  Our  Friend  Agustin  Gonzalez  had  prepared 
a  pit,  covered  with  strong  beams  and  about  a  foot  of  ^ 
earth,  in  which  he  could  protect  his  family,  and  we 
had  often  thought  of  doing  the  same.  The  right  of 
self  defense  by  such  means  being  licit  and  laudable. 

Familiarity  with  danger  had  in  a  measure  abated 
our  fears,  and  by  day  when  attacks  were  made,  we 
scarcely  gave  them  any  attention  whatever,  and  were 
often  walking  upon  the  streets,  returning  from  a 
visit  or  some  errand,  some  time  after  firing  had  begun. 
Several  citizens  had  been  wounded,  one  little  girl  of 
our  acquaintance,  whilst  sleeping  in  her  bed,  had  five 
teeth  knocked  out  by  a  rifle  ball,  which  left  an  ugly 
wound  in  each  cheek,  and  one  of  our  workmen  had  a 
hall  pass  through  the  head-board  of  his  bed  and 
through  Ms  pillow,  but  taking  a  downward  course 
it  fell  to  the  floor.  We  would  mathematically  calculate 
these  cases,  and  divide  our  population  of  16,000  by 
that  number  and  thus  find  that  we  stood  compara- 
tively little  risk  of  injury. 

Were  we  to  admit  that  one  peaceful  citizen  were 
wounded  in  each  attack,  we  would  still  incur  only  one 
lisk  in  16,000,  and  were  a  ball  to  strike  us  the  chances 


86  Revolutionary  Incidents. 

were  more  favorable  to  a  slight  injury  than  to  a 
mortal  wound,  thus  on  the  doctrine  of  probabilities 
we  had  a  fair  chance.  But  far  above  all  was  the 
thought  that  we  were  the  children  of  a  kind  Heav- 
enly Father,  engaged  in  his  service,  and  he  had 
promised  to  be  with  such  as  placed  their  trust  in  him. 
Thus  during  seven  months  of  close  siege  and  fre- 
quent hostilities  we  were  able  quietly  to  go  forward 
with  our  work  with  very  few  interruptions.  The 
most  heart-rending  scene  during  the  summer  and 
fall  was  the  burning  of  the  ranches  to  the  westward 
of  the  city,  by  order  of  Gen,  Revueltas,  then  military 
commander  of  the  city.  The  poor  people  were  ejected 
from  their  dwellings  and  not  allowed  to  save  any  of 
their  valuables,  whilst  their  buildings  were  burned 
before  their  eyes.  In  one  case  it  was  said  that  an 
infant  was  burned  to  death  in  the  cradle,  its  mother 
being  absent  when  their  reed  house,  thatched  with 
grass,  was  fired  and  in  a  few  moments  was  reduced 
to  ashes.  This  was  a  reprisal,  or  might  be  a  victory, 
but  it  was  to  the  poor  victims,  pillage  and  murder. 


I'ictory,  alias  M»itlJrKC  tntd .Jit t rdcr. 


qiiAPTER  XIII. 

CONVERSION  or  LUCIANO  MASCORRO,  INCIDENTS  DURING 
THE  SIEGE,  DEATH  OY  CASTULO  SALAS  DURING  THE 
"'BIG  DRUNK"  WHICH  FOLLOWED  THE  ENTRY  OF  THE 
FORCES  OF  GrEN»  CORTINA. 

to  this  date  our  mission  had  no  native  evange- 
list,  since  the  removal  of  Clemente  A.  Vivero, 
and  aside  from  the  occasional  exhortations  of 
Agustin  Gonzalez  and  his  more  frequent  exercises 
of  prayer,  the  native  portion  of  the  congregation  took 
no  active  part  in  the  vocal  exercises.  We  felt  this  to 
be  a  great  draw-back  to  our  work,  for  native  evan- 
gelists have  much  nearer  access  to  the  people,  and 
speak  the  language  with  greater  ease.  It  is  rare 
indeed  that  a  foreigner  escapes  some  chronic  peculi- 
arity which  marks  him  as  a  foreigner.  The  missionary 
is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  Some  peculiarity  of  y 
accent,  some  slight  variation  in  the  sound  of  a  vowel,  \ 
some  mistaken  use  of  a  verb,  or  a  badly  chosen 
adjective,  betray  his  foreign  nationality. 

We  had  long  had  a  useful  assistant  in  the  press 
room,  but  unexpected  difficulties  were  paving  the 
way  for  his  separation  from  our  employ. 

One  afternoon  as  I  was  busy  in  the  printing  office 
a  young  man  handed  me  a  letter  which  had  been 
given  to  him  in  another  printing  office  in  the  city. ' 
It  was  from  a  young  man  who  had  been  connected 
with  the  editorial  work  of  a  liberal  paper  in  Mier, 
and  who  had  read  "El  Ramo  de  Olivo"  as  an  exchange 
paper,  and  desired  to  know  more  about  the  Society 

87 


88    Conversion  of  Luciano  Maseorro* 

of  Friends  which  sustained  such  a  paper.  He  had 
attended  a  few  of  the  meetings  of  Clemente  A. 
Vivero  in  that  cityy  and  had  been  an  energetic 
member  of  a  society  of  "Workmen"  which  had  been 
organized  there*  He  had  also  on  one  occasion  delivered 
the  public  address  in  the  plaza  on  the  national 
celebration  of  the  uprising  at  Dolores,  the  first 
stroke  of  Mexican  Independence. 

It  was-  not  an  idle  curiosity  that  prompted  him  to 
take  this  new  step,  and  expose  himself  to  the  ridicule 
of  his  nearest  relatives,  and  most  intimate  acquain- 
tances. He  was  not  only  a  decided  liberal,  but  saw 
in  Christianity  as  presented  in  "El  Ramo  de  Olivo,"1 
something  that  could  satisfy  the  longing  of  an 
immortal  soul.  He  had  lost  all  confidence  in  Roman- 
ism,  and  whilst  in  Mier  in  concert  with  his  fellow 
compositors  in  the  office  of  "La  Lampara*  had 
issued  for  gratuitous  circulation  that  cutting  satire- 
on  Romish  superstitions  which  has  done  more1 
perhaps  than  any  other  pamphlet  to  open  the  eyes 
of  the  devotees  of  Rome  to  see  the  errors  of  that 
ehurchf  and  the  astonishing  contrast  between  its; 
pantomimes  and  the  Grospel  of  Christ. 

Completely  weaned  from  Romanism r  he  had  been 
living  for  some  time  with  a  brother  who  was  a  Hasonr 
and  had  come  under  the  excommunication  issued 
by  Bishop  Montesdeoea  against  the  members  of  that 
order.  The  Bishop  had  recently  made  his  last  visit 
to  the  towns  along  ther  Rio  Grande  above1  Matamoros, 
where  he  was  met  at  every  turn  by  criticisms  from 
the  public  press  and  found  but  few  sympathizers. 

This  interesting  young  man,  since  so-  well  known- 
wherever  the  Grospel  has  extended  in  Mexico,  was 
pimply  invited  to  attend  our  next  public  meeting  at 
the  usual  hour  where  he  could  best  understand  our 
work. 

It  was  a  night  meeting,  and  the  preaching  was  a 
simple  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  repentance  for 


Incidents  during  the    Siege.         89 

the  remission  of  sins.  Luciano  Mascorro,  for  such 
was  his  name,  listened  with  attention,  he  was  not 
only  persuaded,  but  felt  the  power  of  the  Gospel 
reaching  his  heart.  He  was  henceforward  a  diligent 
attender  and  but  a  few  weeks  later  applied  for  ad- 
mission as  a  member,  and  was  warmly  welcomed  by 
the  brethren  to  a  place  in  our  midst. 

The  vacancy  in  our  printing  office  was  now  filled 
and  his  rare  typographical  ability  soon  made  a  very 
decided  improvement  in  the  appearance  of  our  pub- 
lications. 

The  siege  continued  with  unabated  rigor,  the  mails 
were  closed,  and  for  a  time  it  was  necessary  for  all 
burials  to  take  place  in  the  costly  cemetery  inside 
the  city  walls.  The  three  bridges  across  the  ditch 
were  taken  up  and  the  gateways  filled  in  with  piles 
of  posts,  whilst  some  wire  fences  were  placed  outside 
to  prevent  a  sudden  assault.  Attacks  were  frequent, 
and  on  one  occasion  as  Luciano  was  walking  in  the 
street  a  ball  struck  about  two  feet  before  him, 
imbedding  itself  in  the  earth.  One  afternoon  as  I 
was  returning  from  Brownsville,  which  was  our 
only  outlet,  coming  around  a  bend  on  the  street 
railway,  where  our  car  was  in  line  with  the  east  wall 
I  could  distinctly  see  from  the  car  window  the  blaze 
of  the  two  contending  armies,  as  volley  after  volley 
was  exchanged  between  the  insurgents  and  the  force 
of  Ft,  Iturbide,  where  the  eastern  wall  reaches  the 
river  bank  apposite  Ft.  Brown.  I  hastened  home  as 
I  knew  that  they  would  be  nearer  in  range  and  more 
exposed  to  danger  than  I  was  where  I  first  saw  the 
combat.  On  reaching  home  I  found  that  Gfulielma 
and  Angelita  had  just  returned  from  shopping  on 
Commercial  St.  and  had  been  walking  in  the -streets 
during  most  of  the  combat.  Such  is  the  confidence 
inspired  by  continued  exposure  to  danger,  and 
familiarity  with  revolutions. 


.90 


Christmas  Exercises. 


Notwithstanding  these  critical  suroundings  we  de- 
cided to  have  the  usual  closing  exercises  of  our  school 
on  Christmas  night.  Aside  from  the  scholars  several 
young  people  were  to  take  part  in  the  exercises,  and 
a  beautiful  Christmas  tree  was  arranged  and  filled 
with  presents  for  the  children,  a  special  fund  for  this 
object  having  been  raised  by  our  members,  amounting 
in  that  time  of  scarcity  to  some  16  dollars,  most  of 
which  was  spent  in  articles  of  clothing  for  the  school 
children. 


OPENING  A  BOX  OF  CHRISTMAS  GIFTS. 

•The  evening  was  fine,  the  house  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, and  no  part  of  the  exercises  attracted  more 
attention  than  the  closing  address  to  parents  and 
children  by  Luciano  Mascorro.  It  was  his  first  public 
discourse  in  defense  of  the  Gospel,  and  caused  a 


Progress  of  the  Mission  Church.     91 

favorable  impression  on  the  audience,  whilst  the 
elders  of  the  church  thought  they  saw  there  the  plain 
indication  of  a  call  to  the  ministry.  He  received  the 
most  cordial  counsels  of  the  officers  of  the  Society, 
and  soon  after  began  to  take  part  %i  the  public  exer- 
cises of  our  regular  meetings.  He  had  some  months- 
previously  been  appointed  Clerk  of  the  Monthly^ 
Meeting,  held  then  as  now  at  8  P.  M.  of  the  first 
Saturday  of  each  month. 

School  opened  again  two  weeks  after  New  Years- 
and  Angelita  had  been  able  to  add  quite  a  number  of 
children  to  the  list,  among  others  several  grand-nieces- 
of  Ramon  Lozano,  the  Luther  of  Mexico.  She  had 
been  appointed  as  deaconess  in  November,  1876, 
and  each  month  she  had  to  give  an  account  of  the 
number  of  sick,  and  any  other  subject  bearing  on  the 
progress  of  the  church,  especially  those  things  relating' 
to  the  female  members.  She  was  accordingly  very 
diligent  in  visiting  the  sick,  and  in  counselling  those 
who  had  become  careless  in  attending  our  meetings, 
or  had  fallen  into  sinful  habits.  She  was  greatly 
blessed  in  this  labor  for  Christ,  and  received  the  most 
cordial  sympathy  of  the  whole  church,  of  which  she 
had  become  servant,  as  the  Greek  word  implies. 

As  we  have  previously  stated,  our  members  had 
nearly  all  refrained  from  taking  any  part  in  the 
revolutionary  struggle  which  placed  Glen.  Diaz  in  ) 
the  presidential  chair.  They  were  engaged  in  a  more 
important  struggle,  and  amid  the  varying  shades  of 
public  opinion  maintained  a  most  strict  neutrality. 
One  of  our  members  had  some  time  previously  passed 
over  to  Brownsville,  where  he  had  engaged  in  a  small 
grocery  business,  and  was  getting  along  well  in  trade. 

He  had  a  wife,  some  years  younger  than  himself T 
and  a  bright  little  boy  was  the  father's  joy  and  the 
mother's  pride.  Prior  to  his  union  with  our  Society 
he  had  been  an  intimate  friend  and  partizan  of  Gen, 


02      Peaceful  entry  of  Gen.  Cortina. 

Cortina,  who  since  his  escape  from  prison  in  Mexico? 
had  gathered  his  followers  and  besieged  our  city. 

After  the  defeat  of  Gen.  Diaz,  at  Hicamole,  he  had 
escaped  in  some  way  the  vigilance  of  the  forces  at 
Tampico  and  by  an  unlocked  for  series  of  victories 
had  taken  possessioSi  of  the  national  capital,  although 
this  event  was  unknown  in  Matamoros  until  40  days 
after  the  flight  of  President  Sebastian  Lerdo  de 
Tejada.  Eveiy  other  point  had  surrendered  and  a 
longer  resistance  here  was  useless.  Yet  G-en.  Revueltas 
well  knowing  the  character  of  Gen.  Cortina,  who 
after  besieging  us  many  months  under  various  pre- 
texts, had  now  declared  in  favor  of  Gen.  Diaz,  had 
determined  not  to  permit  his  entry  into  the  city. 
When  Gen.  Blanco  was  sent  by  Diaz  to  take  command 
of  the  city,  be  determined  to  permit  the  peaceful 
entry  of  Gen.  Cortina.  The  19th  of  February  was 
fixed  upon,  and  flowers  were  strewn  in  the  pathway 
of  Cortina  and  his  troops. 

Castulo  Salas,  the  member  of  whom  we  have  been 
speaking,  determined  to  cross  over  the  river  above 
Matamoros,  and  accompany  his  old  friend  in  the  hour 
of  triumph,  and  entered  the  city  on  horseback,  but 
unarmed,  in  company  with  the  army. 

After  the  entry  of  Gen.  Cortina  a  small  bounty 
was  distributed  to  the  troops  and  they  prepared  for 
a  big  drunk,  to  celebrate  their  victory,  not  a  few  of  the 
government  troops  getting  more  than  half-seas-over 
in  half  a  day.  As  the  head-quarters  of  Gen.  Cortina 
were  opposite  our  printing  office,  then  on  Tenth  St. 
corner  of  Bustamante,  we  returned  home  early  in  the 
afternoon  as  the  drunken  roughs  were  discharging 
firearms  at  random  and  thus  endangering  the  lives  of 
peaceful  citizens.  Early  at  night  we  closed  our  doors, 
for  groups  of  drunken  soldiers,  mostly  of  Cortina's 
men  were  at  the  street  corners  near  our  house,  still 
purchasing  liquor  and  increasing  the  uproar.  Just 
after  dark  we  heard  terrible  shrieks  at  one  of  the 


Death  and  btirial  of  Cdstulo  Salas.  .  93 

grog  shops,  or  rather  a  store  with  a  bar  on  the  front 
end  of  the  counter,  as  is  usiial  in  groceries  in  Mexico, 
and  then  followed  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  police  tell- 
ing us  that  something  had  happened,  yet  we  thought 
prudence  the  better  part  of  valor,  especially  when 
dealing  with  drunkards,  and  kept  our  house  closed 
until  after  day  dawned  the  next  morning. 

Just  after  breakfast  one  of  our  members  brought 
us  a  paper  with  the  police  report  for  the  previous  day, 
and  we  saw  that  Castillo  Salas  had  been  struck  down 
by  the  drunken  crowd,  one  of  his  own  party  having 
struck  him  on  the  head  with  the  breech  of  his  gun, 
burying  the  lock  in  his  brain. 

A  messenger  soon  called  us  to  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  man,  who  was  entirely  unconscious,  although 
he  lingered  most  of  that  day.  Glen.  Cortina  offered 
to  bear  the  expense  of  the  funeral,  but  the  desires  of 
his  wife,  and  there  being  no  proof  of  his  being  in  any 
way  culpable,  induced  us  to  take  charge  of  the 
interment. 

The  following  morning  we  attended  the  funeral, 
though  quiet  had  not  been  restored  in  the  streets,  as 
a  drunken  officer  fired  six  shots  through  the  rear 
carriage  as  they  went  to  the  house,  ready  to  take  the 
friends  of  the  deceased  to  the  meeting,  the  carriage 
being  empty  at  the  time.  We  occupied  the  carriage 
on  the  return  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  we  could 
induce  the  coachman  to  pass  the  same  street  corner, 
where  he  had  previously  been  fired  upon,  though  his 
aggressor  had  in  the  meanwhile  been  arrested,  and 
was  severely  punished  for  his  disorderly  conduct. 

This  funeral  was  one  of  the  most  impressive  I  was 
ever  permitted  to  attend,  and  never  did  I  feel  greater 
freedom  and  boldness  to  show  how  the  mangled 
corpse  of  our  brother  warned  us  to  avoid  evil  associa- 
tions and  yielding  to  temptation.  The  open  doors  were 
however  crowded  with  roughs  and  quite  a  number 
of  the  associates  of  Cortina  were  seated  in  the  room. 


94  Anniversary  Exercises. 

The  30th.  of  January  had  in  previous  years  been 
kept  as  anniversary  of  the  first  organization  of  the 
Society,  but  owing  to  the  state  of  public  affairs  it 
was  decided  to  have  as  anniversary  the  last  Sabbath 
of  February,  anniversary  of  the  first  meeting  for 
worship  opened  by  us  in  1872,  and  which  was  kept 
in  succeding  years.  This  time  a  new  platform,  with 
Bible  stand,  and  hand-rail  had  been  arranged  by 
some  of  our  members  who  were  carpenters  and  was 
placed  in  our  meeting  room  that  morning,  giving  it 
a  much  more  inviting  aspect. 

Peace  was  once  more  restored  to  the  nation,  the 
prices  of  eatables  which  had  risen  considerably 
quickly  fell  to  the  usual  rate,  the  mails  were  soon 
re-established,  and  our  books  which  had  been  for  the 
time  limited  to  the  city,  began  to  be  called  for  from 
distant  points,  whilst  the  attendance  at  our  meetings 
began  to  increase  and  the  work  take  a  more  inviting 
aspect. 


Septentrional  America 


SUCCESSFUL  EFFOETS  OF  ANGELITA  IN  MISSION  WOEK, 
CONTEOVEKSY  WITH  THE  PEIESTS.  GROWTH  OF  THE 
CHUECH.  CHAEACTEE  AND  STABILITY  OF  THE  MEXICAN 
CONVEETS. 

•  FTER  the  restoration  of  peace  our  members  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  Brownsville  began  to  return 
and  thus  our  meetings  began  to  increase  in  atten- 
dance, and  early  in  the  Spring  the  grand-nieces 
of  Father  Lozano  who  had  been  brought  into  our 
day  school  were  admitted  as  members,  and  the 
eldest  of  these  being  earnest  in  her  zeal  for  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Gospel,  was  one  of  a  small  band  who  met 
twice  each  week  to  practice  singing  and  learn  new 
hymns.  The  ability  of  Angela  Aguilar  was  here 
displayed  and  many  hearts  were  influenced  in  our 
public  meetings  by  Gospel  Truths  taught  in  the 
sweet  language  of  song.  Luciano  Mascorro  was  also 
an  excellent  singer  and-  often  in  attendance  at  these 
gatherings,  and  once  each  week  both  the  schools  were 
brought  together  for  one  hour  and  trained  in  this 
useful  exercise,  and  many  truths  sown  in  those  young 
hearts  may  bear  a  rich  harvest.  I  did  not  say  tender 
hearts,  for  though  many  such  there  were,  we  had  at 
that  time  in  our  school  some  pretty  unruly  children 
whose  parents  were  friendly  to  our  work,  and  but 
for  their  ungodly  lives  would  have  joined  our  Society. 
Protestantism  had  become  popular  and  many  who 

95 


<JG    Remarkable  deathof  "El  Tejon.'9' 

had  no  use  for  the  priests  began  extolling  Protest- 
antism, thinking  it  a  free  road  to  heaven.  We  had  in 
our  school  the  children  of  two  noted  bandits  and 
highwaymen,  one  of  whom  had  been  shot  as  an  out- 
law, whilst  the  other  was  an  officer  in  the  army  of 
Gen.  Cortina,  known  better  as  the  border  ruffian 
"El  Tejon"  (the  badger,)  a  corpulent  and  daring 
fellow.  He  met  me  one  day,  praised  our  school,  and 
said  that  he  wanted  to  join  our  Society,  as  he  admired 
the  changed  life  of  some  of  our  members  with  whom 
he  was  acquainted.  He  reminded  me  of  a  man  who 
was  condemned  to  death  in  Greensboro,  N.  C.  some 
years  ago  and  whom  I  visited  two  days  before  his 
execution.  Speaking  of  the  visits  of  several  of  our 
ministers  to  his  cell  after  his  sentence,  he  said  to  me: 
"I  have  always  leaned  toward  your  Society,"  when 
stopping  himself,  he  resumed,  "No,  I  have  always 
leaned  toward-s  destruction,  but  I  always  thought  that 
you  were  right."  This  bandit  could  not  help  but 
realize  that  he  was  hastening  toward  destruction,  but 
he  was  persuaded  that  Protestantism  taught  the 
way  of  fife. 

One  morning  just  after  school  had  opened  his 
daughter  was  sent  for  in  haste,  with  word  that  her 
father  was  dying.  The  .circumstances  of  his  death 
caused  a  deep  impression  011  the  class  to  which  he 
belonged,  and  even  tliey  looked  upon  it  as  a  direct 
judgment  from  God.  He  was  intoxicated  and  drove 
along  on  horseback,  and  was  just  passing  the  house 
of  a  woman  of  bad  character,  and  stopping  his  horse 
began  speaking  to  her,  when  taking  his  revolver 
from  his  belt  he  fired  at  her.  At  the  instant  she  held 
both  hands  aloft  in  surprise,  when  he  discharged  his 
pistol  the  ball  passed  through  her  hand,  and  striking 
the  brick  wall  of  the  house,  in  the  rebound  struck 
him  in  the  breast,  and  being  imbedded  near  the 
heart  caused  death  almost  instantly.  It  was  evidently 
no  chance  work,  and  Christian  and  infidel  were  alike 


Controversy  with  the  Priests.         97 

awed  by  so  unlocked  for  a  termination  of  the  life  of 
"J5/Z  Tejon."  How  a  ball  should  have  struck  so  as  to 
return  like  a  boomerang,  and  with  sufficient  force  to 
cause  a  mortal  wound,  and  thus  kill  the  one  who 
fired  it,  is  yet  a  mystery,  but  the  fact  itself  was  so 
evident  that  the  judge  had  no  difficulty  in  declaring 
that  it  was  a  case  of  accidental  suicide. 

In  May  of  that  year  we  were  called  to  the  bedside 
of  a  dying  woman  in  Brownsville,  and  as  usual 
Aiigelita  was  one  of  the  company.  We  had  been 
sent  for  at  a  late  hour  the  previous  night,  when  it 
was  not  practicable  to  go  as  the  ferry  would  not  be 
open  for  us  to  return,  and  when  we  reached  the  house, 
next  morning  a  Romish  Priest  was  at  her  bedside.  He 
had  been  sent  for  in  the  absence  «of  the  husband  of 
the  dying  woman  by  some  negresses  who  lived  in  the 
larger  jacal  in  the  same  yard,  and  they  claimed  that 
the  dying  woman  had  solicited  his  coming,  but  she 
was  evidently  not  conscious  of  what  was  passing 
around  her.  The  first  priest  left  to  send  the  more 
daring  superior  of  the  order,  who  though  known  under 
another  name  are  really  Jesuit,  and  quite  a  contro- 
versy ensued  in  which  Angelita  boldly  opened  her 
Bible  to  answer  the  arguments  of  the  priest,  who  y 
was  not  a  little  surprised  at  her  boldness.  The  husband  / 
of  the  dying  woman  assured  the  priest  that  both 
himself  and  wife  were  members  of  our  meeting  and 
that  he  had  never  heard  her  express  a  desire  to  con- 
fess, and  was  aware  that  she  had  sent  for  us  the 
previous  night.  The  group  of  Louisiana  negroes 
however  called  the  owners  of  the  building  who 
ordered  our  ejection  in  company  with  the  husband 
on  the  ground  that  the  latter  paid  no  rent,  and  there 
being  110  remedy  we  stood  in  the  yard,  whilst  the 
door  was  closed  and  the  priest  claimed  that  the 
woman  confessed  and  received,  extreme  unction, 
though  in  a  few  moments  the  doors  was  opened  to 
light  the  candles  foTr  she  was  dead. 

H 


<JH         Af/optf/jf/   ft    Mof/n'rlcsx    Girl. 

By  r"<|iiest  of  tli(3  husband  wo  took  charge  of  the 
burial,  and  when  we  went  to  the  house  to  take  the 
corpse  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  the  widowed  hus- 
band was  sitting  by  the  fence,  whilst  his  little  ragged 
girl,  only  two  years  old  lay  on  a  sheep  skin  under  the 
scorching  sun  by  his  side.  She  was  *  weeping  for  her 
mother,  and  had  only  partaken  of  some  partly  cooked 
beans,  and  was  really  a  most  touching  sight.  We  had 
known  them  for  several  years,  and  were  present  at 
their  marriage,  the  father  of  this  woman  havjng  been 
a  pillar  in  our  church  from  the  beginning,  the  lirst  of 
our  converts  in  Mexico  to  join  the  throng  which  sur- 
rounds the  throne  of  God.  We  asked  the  father  to 
give  us  the  little  suffering  child,  which  was  brought 
to  our  house  that  evening,  and  has  ever  since  been 
under  our  care,  whom  not  a  few  of  our  friends  will 
remember  having  seen  during  our  visit  to  our  native 
land  in  1881. 

The  following  day  Gulielnia,  whose  health  was 
still  precarious,  joined  a  company  who  went  to  bathe 
in  the  Gulf,  at  Agua  Dulce,  and  the  weeping  little 
stranger  spent  the  first  week  in  her  new  home  in  the 
arms  of  Angelita. 

In  August  of  the  same  year  Gulielma  went  again 
to  the  sea-side,  and  I  was  able  to  accompany  her, 
taking  our  adopted  child  with  us,  and  leaving  Ange- 
lita in  charge  of  the  school,  and  Luciano  in  charm- 
of  the  press  work.  It  was  during  our  absence  that 
Luciano  first  suggested  to  Angelita  his  offer  of 
marriage.  It  was  not  one  of  those  lucil'er  matches,  so 
suddenly  planned  and  executed,  but  a  most  deliberate 
desire  to  further  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
so  dear  to  each  of  them,  and  which  was  to  be  carried 
out  after  the  most  mature  and  prayerful  deliberation. 
We  were  the  first  pvrsons  to  be  consulted  by  both 
parties  and  were  glad  indeed  that  so  appropriate  a 
union  should  open  before  them. 


Stability  of  the  Mexican  Converts.    99 

That  summer  was  one  of  unusual  prosperity  in 
both  the  Missions  at  Matamoros  and  almost  every 
month  new  members  were  added  to  our  meeting, 
some  from  a  decided  preference  to  our  tenets,  others 
because  they  first  received  Christ  through  our  minis- 
try. One  of  the  former  class,  father  of  a  numerous 
family  had  been  a  very  wicked  man,  but  his  conver- 
sion was  real,  and  he  became  a  pillar  in  the  church. 

The  Mexican  converts  evince  great  independence 
of  thought,  carefully  studying  the  Scriptures  with 
desires  to  know  the  truth,  and  to  receive  it  from 
Christ  alone,  and  very  unwilling  that  anything  should 
hinder  their  doing  the  will  of  their  Master.  Casting  \ 
aside  the  dogma  of  Papal  infallibility,  they  rest  less 
on  the  opinions  of  others  than  most  Christians  in  a 
land  where  Romanism  never  held  sway. 


AZTEC  EDUCATION. 

Correcting  a  pupil  with  the  pointed  leaves  of  the  Pita  or  Spanish  Dagger  [yiieeagliiim 
Tile  tongues  signify  reproofs.  Azlcc  hieroglyphics  always  have  eyes  like  a  front  view. 


MEXICAN  SCENERY,  FALLS  OF  REGLA. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PREPARATIONS  FOB  CHRISTMAS.  RETURN  OP  THE  FLORES 
FAMILY.  REMARKABLE  INSTANCE  CONNECTED  WITH 
THE  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH  OF  PEDRO  GoNZALEZ>  THE 
MARRIAGE  OF  ANGELlTA, 

tf|S  the  year  1877  was  closing  the  school  changed 
A  hands,  for  Angelita  was  arranging  for  her  mar- 
*|p  ria^e  and  could  not  much  longer  retain  her 
position.  A  family  which  had  been  very  useful 
M  aiding  us  to  acquire  language  on  our  arrival,  had 
afterwards  returned  to  Monterey  and  from  there  to 
Lampazos,  where  the  four  daughters  had  charge  of 
the  public  school  for  about  two  years.  Returning  to 
Camargo  on  the  Rio  Grande,  they  wrote  to  us 
offering  to  furnish  us  a  teacher,  and  a  month  before 
Christmas  Emilia  Flores  took  charge  of  the  school, 
and  her  three  sisters  assisted  in  the  composing  room 
and  folding  and  stitching  department,  as  our  books 
had  become  numerous  and  the  circulation  over  all 
Spanish  America  required  greater  activity  in  the 
publishing  department. 

A  new  era  in  the  life  of  the  church  was  inaugur- 
ated, the  members  were  united  and  enthusiastic  in 
their  love  for  the  Work,  a  session  of  about  thirty  of 
the  most  earnest  members  met  to  arrange  for  the 
Christmas  exercises  of  the  two  schools,  who  subscri- 
bed over  twenty  dollars  for  that  object,  and  decided 
to  have  a  regular  tax  list  whereon  every  member 
could  subscribe  the  amount  he  was  willing  to  give 
monthly  for  the  care  of  the  poor  and  the  requirements 
•of  church  work. 

101 


102          Death  of  Pedro  Gonzalez. 

The  exorcises  were  well  arranged  and  the  night 
being  beautiful  the  hall  was  crowded  to  excess,  the 
interior  rooms  of  our  dwelling  were  occupied  by  many 
of  the  mothers  who  having  little  babes  were  unwilling 
to  pack  in  the  crowd  and  who  could  see  and  hear 
through  an  open  doorway,  whilst  all  the  windows 
were  thronged  and  a  crowd  in  all  the  doors  opening 
to  the  street,  where  a  policeman  kept  perfect  order. 

The  exercises  consisted  mainly  of  declamations  in 
both  prose  and  poetry  by  the  children,  and  that  night 
hundreds  heard  for  the  first  time  of  the  love  of  Jesus 
and  the  greatness  of  his  mission  through  their 
instrumentality.  Brief  discourses  from  several  of  our 
leading  members  opened  and  closed  the  exercises, 
and  thus  a  favorable  impression  was  made  upon 
many  who  had  been  led  to  attend  from  a  mere  idle 
curiosity  to  see  the  Protestants. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  of  the  winter 
was  the  death  of  Pedro  Gonzalez,  who  though  not  a 
member  had  long  read  our  publications  with 
interest,  and  now  that  he  neared  his  close  he  often 
sent  for  us,  and  many  interesting  seasons  were 
enjoyed  as  we  read  the  Scriptures  and  sung  hymns 
by  his  bedside,  and  were  engaged  in  exhorting  him 
to  confidence  in  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  some  of 
our  company  knelt  in  prayer  with  him. 

His  wife  was  a  strict  Romanist,  and  a  considerable 
part  of  one  side  of  the  room  was  occupied  by  an  altar 
crowned  with  pictures  and  images  of  Saints,  to  whom 
she  often  burned  wax  candles.  Her  husband  declared 
that  he  had  no  confidence  in  these  figures,  but  rested 
plainly  on  the  sweet  words  of  his  loving  Savior.  His 
wife  sent  for  a  priest  one  day,  but  as  the  dying  man 
expressed  his  conviction  that  their  teachings  were 
wrong,  the  priest  left  quite  abruptly.  As  some  tried 
to  circulate  word  that  he  had  retracted,  his  wife  had 
the  kindness  to  send  us  a  letter  stating  that  our  visits- 


Marriage  of  Luciano  and  Angela.  103 

had  been  a  source  of  great  comfort  to  her  husband 
and  that  he  died,  as  he  had  lived,  a  Protestant. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  our  first  acquaintance 
with  this  person  and  the  permanent  fruit  which  grew 
out  of  it.  In  one  room  of  his  house  was  a  cigarette 
factory  with  five  operatives,  and  the  old  gentleman 
was  usually  to  be  seen  sitting  in  the  doorway.  On  one 
occasion  as  M.  M.  Binford  was  passing  along  distrib- 
uting tracts  he  accosted  Pedro  and  offered  him  one. 
A  conversation  ensued  and  Micajah  was  invited  to 
enter,  and  gave  tracts  to  all  the  workmen  but  one. 
This  one  was  son-in-law  of  Pedro,  and  was  so  fearful 
of  being  contaminated  with  hereby  that  h  >  dared 
not  even  look  up  to  see  the  heretic.  The  tracts  were 
read  and  commented  upon,  and  on  the  next  visit 
this  young  man  secretly  wished  for  a  tract  but  did 
not  dare  to  ask  for  it.  Soon  after  this  young  man  began 
attending  our  meetings,  and  is  now  one  of  our  most 
successful  evangelists,  and  endued  with  a  large  share 
of  spiritual  discernment.  His  name  is  Francisco 
Pefia.  His  labors  however  do  not  enter  until  near  the 
close  of  the  present  volume. 

It  was  not  until  March  of  1878  that  Angela  Aguilar 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Luciano  Mascorro.  Few 
countries  take  greater  care  in  regard  to  marriage 
than  Mexico,  and  the  laws  render  clandestine  marria- 
ges impossible.  The  parties  go  before  the  civil  judge 
with  two  male  witnesses  for  each  party,  all  of  whom 
must  be  persons  of  known  good  character  and  resi- 
dents of  the  town  where  the  marriage  is  to  take 
place.  The  name  and  consent  of  parents,  and  the 
names  of  the  grand-parents,  as  well  as  the  place  of 
residence  of  all  these  ancestors  is  carefully  noted 
down,  and  the  whole  written  out  in  a  formal  declara- 
tion, three  copies  of  which  are  posted  on  the  doors 
of  at  least  three  of  the  offices  of  the  city  council  and 
judges.  The  names  also  usually  appear  in  the  public 
newspapers  during  the  two  weeks  which  intervene 


104        Civil  Marrfftf/e  in  Mexico. 

between  the  first  and  second  presentation  before  the 
judge.  When  one  of  the  parties  has  recently  arrived 
from  some  other  point  the  proceedings  are  delayed 
until  the  authorities  of  the  place  in  which  he  or 
she  formerly  resided  can  be  duly  consulted  as  to  their 
clearness  of  like  engagements  there.  In  case  one  of 
the  parties  is  a  widow  or  widower  a  certificate  of  the* 
civil  register  of  deaths  and  interments  from  the  place 
where  said  party  deceased  is  indispensable,  and  thus 
it  is  not  unusual  for  two  months  to  elapse  between 
the  first  and  second  presentation  before  the  civil 
magistrate.  On  the  second  presentation,  if  no  obsta- 
cle has  presented,  the  judge  reads  the  report  of  the 
first  presentation  and  asks  the  parties,  who  remain 
seated,  usually  side  by  side,  though  this  is  not  neces- 
sary, if  it  is  still  their  free  and  voluntary  desire  to 
take  each  other  in  marriage,  and  on  receiving  an 
affirmative  answer  from  each  party,  he  proceeds  to 
read  the  duties  and  obligations  of  married  lif  e  in  a 
legal  point  of  view,  a  document  as  ably  written  as 
any  I  have  ever  seen  upon  marriage. 

In  Mexican  law  marriage  is  a  union  for  life,  no 
divorce  being  granted,  and  though  a  temporary 
separation  may  be  legally  arranged  in  case  of  adultery, 
yet  even  then  neither  party  is  free  to  contract  mat- 
rimony, and  the  law  hopes  even  in  these  cases  for  an 
ultimate  reconciliation  and  reunion  of  the  parties. 

This  law  is  based  upon  the  Roman  Catholic  inter- 
pretation of  the  words  of  Christ: —  "Whosoever  shall 
put  away  his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornicationr 
causeth  her  to  commit  adultery:"  arguing  that  having 
already  committed  adultery  was  the  cause  of  our 
Savior's  exception  to  such  an  act  causing  her  to 
commit  adultery,  although  in  Mat.  xix.  9.  the  words 
of  Christ  do  not  admit  this  evasion.  However  it 
is  very  evident  that  the  people  of  Mexico,  and  indeed 
of  Spanish  America  in  general  are  not  prepared  to 
admit  divorce  laws,  nor  are  the  results  of  these  laws 


Mexican  Marriage  Laws.  105 

in  other  countries  sufficiently  encouraging  to  convince 
them  that  they  are  desirable. 

On  the  other  hand  as  their  law  limits  all  accusation 
of  adultery,  to  the  injured  party,  though  having  no 
legal  sanction,  concubinage  is  not  uncommon  among 
the  wealthy,  particularly  foreign  merchants,  mostly 
French,  Spanish  and  Italian,  who  live  with  women 
without  legal  marriage.  As  the  Romish  Priests  view 
the  liberal  government  as  their  enemy,  usurper  of 
their  temporal  power,  when  parties  present  them- 
selves before  them  for  marriage,  they  are  not  asked 
whether  the^  have  contracted  marriage  before  the  ' 
judge  or  not,  but  are  united  in  matrimony  by  the 
church,  though  one  or  both  may  be  already  married/ 
by  law.  This  causes  the  most  lamentable  results,  as 
many  unprincipled  young  men  marry  before  the 
priest,  and  after  a  while,  finding  another  bride  more 
to  their  taste  forsake  their  church  wife  and  marry 
the  new  one  before  the  civil  judge.  The  church  may 
excommunicate  the  bridegroom,  but  the  deserted 
wife  has  no  redress,  her  children  are  illegitimate1"  in 
a  legal  point  of  view,  and  can  receive  but  a  limited 
part  of  their  father's  property. 

The  legal  side  is  not  so  tolerant,  for  when  a  man 
leaves  his  legal  wife  and  marries  another  in  the  church, 
he  can  at  her  accusation  be  punished  for  adultery,  and 
her  children  are  his  legal  heirs,  and  no  man  can  leave 
by  will  more  than  one  fifth  of  his  property,  except  to 
his  heirs  at  law,  so  that  this  class  of  marriages  is 
rare.  One  took  place  some  years  ago  in  Soto  la  Ma- 
rina, but  the  priest  who  had  counselled  and  solem- 
nized the  marriage  was  imprisoned  as  abettor  of  im- 
morality, and  only  released  on  the  payment  of  a 
heavy  fine. 

Recently  some  of  the  authorities,  especially  the 
Governor  of  Coahuila  have  forbidden  the  priests  to 
marry  parties  except  in  view  of  a  certificate  from  the 
civil  magistrate,  or  baptize  any  children  not  regis- 


wr>          Mexican  Marriage 

tered  on  the  civil  register.  Over  700  children  were 
registered  in  one  month  in  the  city  of  Saltillo  alone 
in  execution  of  this  law,  and  the  Bishop  became  so 
incensed  that  he  forbade  the  priests  administering 
the  sacraments,  as  they  call  them,  until  the  law  be 
repealed.  Bishop  Montesdeoca  who  issued  this  order 
is  famous  as  one  of  the  clerical  embassy  which  went  to 
Miramar  to  offer  their  government  to  a  foreign 
potentate,  and  he  held  the  Gospels  whilst  Maximilian 
took  the  oath  of  office  as  emperor  of  Mexico.  Arch- 
bishop Labastida  (who  was  regent  of  that  imported 
monarchy,  sustained  by  the  troops  of  Napoleon  III.) 
does  not  seem  to  approve  of  the  course  of  Montesde- 
oca, fearing  it  may  lead  to  the  expulsion  of  the  priests, 
as  the  government  expelled  the  sisters  of  Charity  in 
1875,  for  like  infractions  of  the  Reform  Laws 
established  by  President  Juarez. 

The  civil  power  does  not  prohibit  but  rather 
encourages  the  parties  to  ratify  their  marriages  before 
their  respective  churches,  and  if  the  marriage  takes 
place  at  the  house  of  the  parents  of  the  bride,  or  any 
private  residence,  the  religious  ceremony  may  take 
place  immediately  after  the  civil  marriage,  and  some 
times  judge  and  priest  are  both  present  during  the 
whole  ceremony. 

The  Protestant  churches  uniformly  require  that 
the  parties  present  proof  by  their  witnesses  of  having 
complied  with  the  law,  the  solemnization  taking  place 
immediately  after  the  civil  marriage  has  been  per- 
formed. Thus  Luciano  and  Angelita,  accompanied  by 
their  witnesses,  arrived  from  the  office  of  the  civil 
magistrate  and  entered  the  meeting  already  gathered 
for  the  occasion  and  took  their  seats  at  a  table  fronting 
the  preacher's  desk,with  their  waiters  seated  at  either 
side,  after  a  discourse  on  the  religious  aspect  of 
marriage  they  arpse  to  ratify  before  the  assembled 
church  that  act  which  had  just  been  sanctioned 
before  the  legal  authority. 


The  Marriage  Snpp&r. 


107 


It  was  a  beautiful  night,  the  hall  was  adorned  with 
vases  of  flowers,  and  the  seats  were  crowded,  the 
windows  and  doors  also  closely  packed  with  spec- 
tators, the  presence  of  a  policeman  preserving  order 
without  difficulty.  The  supper  was  prepared  in  a  large 
interior  room,  those  who  had  been  invited  passed  out 
following  the  couple  to  the  seats  at  the  table,  the 
audience  dispersing  so  quietly  that  the  policeman,  who 
was  a  member  of  our  meeting,  was  invited  to  a  seat 
at  the  table,  where  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  social 
gathering  was  again  invoked  and  a  sweet  solemnity 
pervaded  the  happy  festive  occasion. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONVEESION  OF  JULIO  GONZALEZ  GrEA.  RECOGNITION 
OF  LUCIANO  MASCORRO  AS  MINISTER  OF  THE  GOS- 
PEL. VISIT  TO  SAN  FERNANDO.  EPIDEMIC  FEVER.  THE 
ADMISSION  OF  I.  BOLADO.  CHRISTMAS  EXERCISES. 

|j  |  BOUT  a  month  after  ftiQ  marriage,  as  we  were 
about  sitting  down  to  tea  a  very  pleasant  man  in 
middle  life  stepped  up  and  introduced  himself  by 
showing  us  a  note  written  on  a  blank  leaf  in  his 
diary  and  signed  by  Clemente  A.  Vivero.  He  stated 
that  whilst  passing  through  Reynosa  he  had  met  on 
the  bank  of  the  river  a  very  strangely  clad  fisherman, 
who  had  told  him  about  our  work  in  Matamoros,  and 
whose  clear  declaration  of  the  Gospel  was  very  much 
in  accord  with  his  own  convictions.  He  had  served  in 
the  war  against  the  North  Americans  in  184-7,  and 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  bombardment  of  Vera 
Cruz,  by  a  shell  from  the  fleet  of  Gen.  Scott.  He  was 
then  a  mere  lad,  and  like  many  others  endeavored  to 
defend  his  native  city  from  an  unjust  foreign  invasion. 
During  the  French  invasion  he  had  taken  no  part, 
as  he  had  near  relatives  in  both  contending  armies, 
whose  blood  he  was  unwilling  to  shed.  He  had  how- 
ever recently  occupied  a  position  in  the  government 
of  the  State  of  Chihuahua,  and  having  four  children 
was  very  desirous  to  direct  them  aright  in  religious 
matters.  His  name  was  Julio  Gonzalez  Gea. 

He  began  attending  our  meetings  regularly  and  two 
months  later  he  was  admitted  a  member  as  were  also 
his  children  at  his  request. 

109 


no  Luciano  is  accorded  a  Minister. 

He  took  great  interest  in  our  meetings  and  his 
children  began  attending  our  school,  except  his  eldest 
daughter  who  was  his  house-keeper.  As  he  lived  near 
the  central  square,  in  his  profession  of  watch  repairer, 
his  children  had  to  come  quite  a  distance  and  were 
often  treated  with  abusive  language  and  brick-bats 
by  the  boys  going  to  the  public  schools.  This  was  to 
them  quite  a  trial,  and  the  more  so  as  they  were  near 
relatives  of  Col.  Cristo  former  military  commander  of 
the  government  forces  stationed  in  Matamoros. 

Julio  Gonzalez  Gea  was  soon  after  appointed  Sec- 
retary of  our  monthly  business  meeting,  and  thus  was 
present  at  the  public  recognition  of  Luciano  Mascorro 
as  Minister  of  the  Gospel  in  the  Society  of  Friends. 
The  Foreign  Mission  Committee  of  Indiana  Yearly 
Meeting  had  given  its  sanction,  and  in  part  had  sug- 
gested the  plan  of  the  meeting.  The  monthly  meeting 
was~  on  the  night  preceding  the  public  recognition, 
which  took  place  at  the  close  of  our  public  meeting 
for  worship  in  the  afternoon  of  September  12th,  1879. 

During  this  meeting  Luciano  was  seated  with  the 
elders  and  deacon  in  a  row  in  front  of  the  audience 
and  facing  the  platform  where  the  secretary,  who 
was  to  read  the  minute  of  the  meeting  was  seated  at 
my  side  for  the  first  time. 

The  meeting  opened  as  usual  with  reverent  prayer 
to  God  to  accompany  this  solemn  occasion  with  a 
special  blessing,  and  the  singing  of  hymns  of  praise 
to  him  for  past  favors  and  blessings.  This  was  followed 
by  a  discourse  ou  the  origin,  nature  and  obligations 
of  the  Gospel  ministry,  setting  forth  that  they  are 
in  no  wise  priests  or -successors  of  those  who  sacri- 
ficed at  the  altar,  but  successors  of  the  prophets  who 
were  specially  called  to  ^atiedr4e  teach  the  people  the 
will  of  God.  This  call  was  the  first  great  requisite  of 
a  Christian  minister,  when  he  should  consecrate  all 
his  natural  and  acquired  abilities  to  the  full  discharge 
of  his  duty  in  order  to  insure  success  in  the  work. 


Luciano  vists  San  Fernando,      ill 

The  sermon  was  listened  to  with  the  most  marked 
attention,  and  is  the  only  one  which  at  the  request 
of  several  of  our  members  was  embodied  in  a  pam- 
phlet which  was  published  in  order  to  show  the  wide 
difference  between  the  Romish  priesthood  sacrificing 
at  the  altar,  and  the  Christian  ministry  boldly  and 
clearly  expounding  the  will  of  God,  opening  to  their 
hearers  the  pages  of  his  holy  word  as  recorded  for 
our.  instruction  in  righteousness. 

After  the  sermon  I  took  him  by  the  hand  in  the 
name  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee,  extending 
to  him  their  cordial  fellowship  in  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel.  Each  of  the  elders  as  well  as  the  deacon 
followed,  the  secretary  closing  the  series  of  personal 
exhortations  and  recommendations  to  the  care  and 
guidance  of  the  great  Head  of  the  church.  After  the 
meeting  was  dismissed  quite  a  number  of  members 
followed  with  similar  exhortations,  which  always 
accompany  the  appointment  of  church  officers  as  a 
natural  expression  of  that  earnest  zeal  which 
characterizes  the  Mexican  converts  to  evangelical 
Christianity . 

Soon  after  this  event  Luciano  paid  a  visit  to  San 
Fernando,  and  although  great  alarm  had  already 
existed  in  Matamoros  about  ydJow  fe\er,  in  no  place 
was  its  approach  less  looked  for  than  from  the  quiet 
little  village  of  San  Fernando,  situated  on  a  limestone 
bluff  ori  the  banks  of  a  beautiful  river  flowing  over 
a  rocky  bed,  Thus  when  Luciano  left  for  that  village 
little  did  we  think  of  the  danger  to  which  he  was 
exposing  himself.  The  fact  that  a  fever  of  a  very 
fatal  nature  had  unfolded  itself  in  San  Fernando 
became  known  to  us  a  few  days  after  he  left  us,  for 
as  there  was  no  resident  physician  the  people  had 
sent  120  miles  for  one  of  our  city  physicians.  When 
Luciano  reached  there  he  found  every  house  full  of 
sick  people,  the  village  proper  having  2000  inhabi- 
tants had  about  300  sick  and  the  death  rate  was  so 


;  i  ;*    EH  identic  fever  at  San  Fernando. 

alarming  that  quite  a  number  fled  to  our  city,  eight 
of  whom  came  down  with  the  disease,  which  the 
Mexican  physicians  declared  to  be  yellow  fever,  in  a 
few  days.  Luciano  found  but  little  chance  for  Gosp»-l 
labor  and  hastily  returned  and  was  prostrated  by  the 
disease  a  few  days  after  reaching  home.  He  had 
contracted  the  disease  in  San  Fernando,  and  as  was 
the  case  with  the  other  refugees  did  not  communicate 
the  disease  to  others.  Yellow  fever  does  not  appear 
to  be  contagious,  but  gradually  extends  from  place 
to  place  either  by  a  slow  land  travel,  or  may  be  taken 
in  the  holds  of  ships  or  in  closed  packs  of  goods. 
Those  who  are  accustomed  to  it  can  readily  tell  it  on 
entering  the  room,  owing  to  a  peculiar  odor  arising 
from  the  patient.  There  may  have  been  a  few  spora- 
dic cases  originated  in  the  city,  and  although  we  had 
steamers  touching  at  Bagdad,  our  offing  30  miles  from 
tin-  city,  it  was  not  imported  by  sea. 

80011  after  his  recovery,  on  one  occasion  as  our 
usual  night  meeting  was  drawing  to  a  close  a  man 
expressed  a  desire  to  become  a  member  of  our  Society, 
and  I  was  surprised  when  I  learned  that  he  lived  at 
Jimenez,  about  180  miles  south  of  Matanioros.  He 
had  however  several  times  attended  our  meetings 
when  in  this  city.  He  was  a  near  relative  of  the  only 
family  of  our  members  who  possessed  even  a  moder- 
ate share  of  worldly  goods,  and  was  himself  owner  of 
considerable  landed  property  besides  his  residence  in 
that  village,  and  a  house  and  lot  in  this  city  adjoining 
the  lot  purchased  for  our  meeting  house.  He  seemed 
truly  converted  and  zealous  in  the  cause,  and  has 
labored  hard  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
among  his  fellow  townsmen,  ^his  was  the  first  case 
of  receiving  a  non-resident  member  to  our  meeting, 
but  he  has  been  quite  useful  in  the  work,  and  is  a 
stable  Christian.  Our  Christmas  exercises  that  year 
were  well  arranged,  the  valedictory  in  V<TS<>  deliv- 
ered by  Maria  Gonzalez  y  Cilicea,  daughter  of  our 


Jtflto  Gonzalez 


113 


Friend  Julio  Gonzalez  (lea,  who  took  an  active  part 
in  all  our  gatherings  and  aided  greatly  in  stimulating 
the  work.  Tims  God  was  gradually  preparing  new 
laborers  for  the  extension  of  the  work  of  Christ  in 
Mexico, 


...... 

:     ^f'"^^»'l'l^!ffl^!lthf«'^'^S^'M''iK(^.i''  •!.'':;:•:!  ...r.-,.ti.  ...:.:;;...:.,.i,,:i.i'ia(eti: 


LA  HOUSE,  PALKNQUE,  PKIOK  jo  THE  CONQUEST 


A  WAYSIDE  KANCH,  OR  COUNTBY  RESIDENCE. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

JOUHNEY  TO  GOMEZ  FARIAS.  THE  WORK  AT  MATA- 
MOROS.  BIRTH  OF  S.  P.  MASCORRO.  REMOVAL  TO 
SAN  FERNANDO.  RETURN  AND  ILLNESS  OF  ANGELI- 
TA.  DEATH  OF  THEIR  CHILD. 

[3  HE  winter  was  an  interesting  time  in  our  mission, 
as  it  was  characterized  by  events  which  to  a 
certain  extent  exercised  a  notable  influence  on 
the  whole  work.  Early  in  January  as  I  was  busy 

in  the  press  room  B S of  San  Fernando 

entered,  and  told  me  that  I  could  have  a   seat   in  his 
carriage  as  far  as  that  village. 

He  was  desirous  that  I  should  go  to  Gomez  Farias 
and  see  his  uncle,  Father  Lozano,  whose  movement 
was  undeniably  the  first  effort  to  introduce  a  religious 
reformation  into  Mexico.  I  accepted  his  offer  and  we 
started  the  same  evening. 

As  illustrating  missionary  journeys  in  Mexico,  and 
to  give  an  inside  view  of  the  character  of  the  villa- 
gel's  I  shall  venture  to  delay  the  reader  to  accompany 
me  in  the  imagination  in  my  wanderings.  We  left 
Matamoros  at  4.  P.  M.  on  the  14th,  of  January  1879. 
I  will  give  the  following  extracts  from  my  Diary. 

".Jan.  14th.  We  reached  a  paraje,  or  camping-ground,  in  'El 
Llano  de  las  Guerras,'  near  the  outlet  known  as  'El  Moquete,'  to 
which  a  channel  had  been  cut  to  dniin  the  lagoon  south  of  Mata- 

115 


I  Hi        Teach  utatt  of  Father  Lozaao. 

moros.  We  sl«-pt  in  the  carriage.  and  the  H/OCO.V  sent  with  us  by 
the  owner  of  the  carriage  slept  on  the  ground.  The  night  \v;is  cold, 
but  I  had  brought  an  extra  large  shawl  and  blanket  for  sleeping 
out  when  necessary,  as  in  winter  we  feel  the  cold  as  much  as  the 
natives.  Next  morning,  the  15th,  we.crosaed  'El  Moquete,'  and 
proceeded,  without  any  incident  of  importance,  to  another  camp- 
ing-ground, known  as  'Kl  Llano  de  his  Mugeres,1  where  another 
large  freight  train  of  ox-carts  camped  soon  jffter  we  did,  the  leader 
of  which  was  a  well  known  hrnrntlo.  We  started  at  half-past  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  so  as  to  let  our  mules  graze  on  a  grassy 
plain  by  a  pond  of  water.  We  made  coffee  as  usual,  and  were 
soon  crossing  the  immense  grassy  plain  known  as  'Llano  del  Te- 
jon.'  A  herd  of  prong-horn  antelopes  ga/ed  at  us  in  wonder  and 
finally  went  skipping  off  over  the  plain.  Nothing  of  importance 
called  our  notice  until  noon,  when  we  reached  this  village,  there 
being  much  uniformity  in  the  scenery,  and  no  noise  except  the 
nightly  howls  of  the  packs  of  prairie  wolves  in  the  thickets. 

"We  were  warmly  received  by  old  acquaintances.  I  did  not  tfnd 
Prudencio  Reyna  at  home,  but  was  welcomed  by  his  children. 

"17th.  Walked  down  to  the  river  before  breakfast,  and  after 
breakfast  went  out  to  the  cemetery,  which,  is  full  of  new  graves. 
victims  of  the  late  pestilence.  Most  of  the  females  of  the  village 
are  dressed  in  black  for  near  relatives  who  have  died  during  the 
epidemic.  The  cemetery  is  surrounded  by  a  high  limestone  wall, 
sustained  by  buttresses,  which  are  covered  by  stone  crosses/There 
are  many  arched  vaults  built  on  the  outside  of  the  wall,  but  open- 
ing on  the  inside.  The  entrance;  doorway  is  adorned  with  pillars 
and  elaborate  designs,  with  an  urn  over  each  pillar,  and  a  largo 
central  stone  cross.  Over  the  doorway  is  the  following  Latin  in- 
scription: 

'PlILVTS    ES    ET    IX    IM'LVKREM    REVERTERES. 
A    PRESB.    R.    LOZAXO    ANNO 


"This  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  evangelical  priest,  to  whose 
liberal  views  is  due  much  of  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  in  this 
portion  of  Mexico. 

"In  the  view  of  that  doorway,  the  iron  grating  giving  me  a  view 
of  scores  of  new  graves,  I  opened  the  book  written  by  R.  Lo/.ano 
and  read  these  words:  -The  goodness  and  mercy  of  God  shine 
/forth  in  all  his  words.  Death  is  not  a  wrathful  vengeance  of  (rod. 
fbut  a  law  of  nature,  as  is  also  life.  If  in  this  world  that  man  atom- 
is  happy  who  is  disposed  to  forgive  injuries,  (jod  can  not  be  so  in 
heaven  with  eternal  hatred  to  mankind,  and  when  on  earth  he 
gave  his  life  for  all  mankind  and  prayed  for  his  enemies:  it  is  there- 
fore, a  real  impiety,  a  positive  insult,  and  a  great  outrage  to  his 
goodness,  to  believe  that  all  is  wrath,  vengeance  ami  punishment 
to  man.  God  had  made  of  our  life  a  proof,  not  a  punishment,  and 


Incidents  at  San  Fernando.       117 

this  proof  consists  in  the  combat  between  good  and  evil  passions, 
between  matter  and  spirit,  and  only  thus  was  it  possible  to  place 
the  liberty  of  man  and  let  him  choose  between  good  and  evil.1 

"It  was  natural  to  reflect,  where  arc  those  who  have  so  recently 
left  this  world,  and  what  will  their  future  be?  I  looked  in  the  book 
before  me  and  find  that  not  a  word  has  Lo/ano  given  about  the 
resurrection  and  final  judgment,  except  in  the  language  of  the 
Bible.  He  quotes  Matthew  xxv;  Mark  xiii;  Luke  xxi;  John  v;  Acts 
xvii,  and  Corinthians  xv;  also  II  Thessalonians  ii;  closing  with  the 
Words  of  Paul  in  Romans  xiv:  'If  Christ  died  and  rose  again,  it  is 
because  he  is  to  be  judge  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead.'  Like  our 
early  friend,  Daniel  Phillips,  in  his  'Proteus  Redivivus,'  he  seemed 
to  think  best  to  state  Scripture  truths  in  Scripture  language- 
After  giving  two  quarto  pages  of  texts  in  regard  to  the  final 
judgment,  and  eternal  rewards  and  punishments,  he  ventures  the 
following  expressions  about  eternal  fire:  'This  devouring  fire,  un- 
extinguishable  tire,  eternal  fire,  outer  darkness,  this  place  of  rep- 
robates, this  gnashing  of  teeth,  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  prece- 
ding texts,  is  what  the  Evangelical  priest  and  Mexican  Church 
understand  by  hell — damnation  and  eternal  fire,  believing  that  is 
equivalent  to  a  perpetual  separation  from  the  grace  and  friendship 
of  God,  and  the  continual  remorse  caused  by  said  separation.' 

"In  the  evening  I  visited  the  town  hall,  and  was  introduced  to 
the  various  authorities  of  the  village.  6ri  returning  to  the  Market, 
I  met  Marcos  Galindo,  and  had  considerable  conversation  with  him 
in  regard  to  the  plan  of  salvation  through  Christ;  several  others 
standing  by  listened  with  interest.  He  purchased  some  books  in 
our  office  a  few  weeks  ago,  and  seems  sincerely  desirous  to  know 
What  true  Christianity  is. 

"18th.  Cold  and  damp,  so  I  could  not  venture  out  much  until 
evening,  when  I  went  to  see  Prndencio  Reyna,  and  had  a  most 
interesting  time  with  his  family.  Later  a  soldier,  who  had  called 
on  me  in  the  morning  returned  and  asked  for  some  books.  He  had 
a,  Bible,  and  was  acquainted  with  A.  J.  Parks,  former  missionary 
at  Cadereita,  to  whose  preaching  he  has  listened.  Through  him  the 
tracts  were  read  by  quite  a  number  of  the  soldiers.  Afterwards  1 
answered  a  number  of  questions  from  inquiring  persons,  and  had 
ample  oportunity  to  declare  the  gospel  to  about  a  dozen  who  were 
present. 

"19th.  Sabbath  morning,  I  arose  with  earnest  prayer  to  God  to 
bless  the  labors  of  the  day.  Walked  out  for  solemn  waiting  upon 
him  for  guidance.  On  returning  Marcos  Galindo  came  to  see  me, 
and  we  talked  together  for  over  an  hour  about  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion and  the  divine  offices  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  gave  his  own  experi- 
ence, and  seems  truly  converted  to  God.  He  looked  over  our 
•disciplinary  rules  and  took  a  copy  with  him:  he  seems  ready  to 
renounce  Rome  and  accept  the  Gospel  even  in  the  face  of  ]>ersecu- 


(tt  sun  Fernando* 

tion.  One  of  the  by-standers  was  convinced  that  these  teaching** 
were  true,  and  after  Marcos  left,  another  came  up  and  listened  to 
a  more  extende<l  conversation  with  this  latter  person,  .so  that  the 
forenoon  was  full  of  rich  blessings  from  on  high. 

"At  the  dinner  table  several  questions  were  asked,  and  an  ex 
tended  exposition  of  our  work  was  given  in  the  presence  of  the 
whole  family.  I  then  went  to  the  river  to  take  the  sunny  air,  and 
on  returning,  a  soldier  who  has  been  attending  Protestant  worship 
in  Mexico  had  called  for  some  books.  After  some  conversation,  1 
gave  him  a  hymn  book,  and  then  went  to  see  Prudencio  Beyna, 
where  I  had  a  very  edifying  time  with  his  family.  Ketnrning  to 
supper,  the  soldier  brought  one  of  his  companions  to  see  me,  and 
after  leaving  this  latter  returned  with  another  companion,  bought 
a  Bible,  and  accepted  several  tracts.  The  soldier  who  came  first 
now  returned,  and  received  a  Testament,  which  I  loaned  to  him. 
and  gave  him  some  copies  of  'El  Bamo  de  Olivo/  The  owner  of  a 
neighboring  ranch  came  to  get  l>ooks  for  a  school  on  his  ranch, 
and  received  several  evangelical  tracts.  Thus  closed  a  day  of  most 
constant  opportunity  to  invite  wanderers  to  Christ,  the  only  hope 
of  salvation. 

"20th.  This  morning  I  have  been  very  busy  writting  letters  and 
getting  passports  for  some  things  I  am  sending  to  Matamoros,  and 
arranging  to  start  to-morrow  for  Jimenez.  I  learn  that  some  effort 
has  been  made  to  try  to  hinder  our  opening  a  place  of  worship 
here  by  some  bigoted  Romanists,  who  have  influence  with  the 
authorities. 

"Before  bidding  farewell  to  San  Fernando,  in  my  outward 
journey,  I  must  not  omit  two  visits  made  to  the  house  of  my  kind 
host,  and  both  partially  on  my  account,  and  both  from  influential 
women  of  the  town;  one  from  Adelaida — tie  Lozano,  wife  of  the 
second  magistrate  of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  a  pleas-ant  one.  She 
brought  with  her  two  orphan  children  they  have  adopted,  and 
was  very  sociable,  and  evidently  of  a  pious  disposition,  I  was  in- 
formed that  when  in  Victoria,  with  her  Irusband,  she  attended 
mass  a  few  times.  l>ur  said  to  st»  veral  intimate  friends  that  t he- 
treasure  she  most  pri/ed  in  religious  matters  is  a  New  Testament 
she  has  for  her  constant  use  at  home.  She  received  me  kindly,  and 
talked  freely  upon  all  social  and  religions  topics. 

u  The  otfcei  risit  was  as  opposite  as  could  be  well  imagined. 
The  work  of  the  few' days  I  had  spent  there,  and  the  warm  wel- 
come giving  me  by  several  influential  residents,  had  not  tailed  to 
alarm  the  extremeKomam  element,  whose  chief  representative  there 
was  a  French  lady,  teacher  of  the  girls' school,  who,  in  violation  ot 
the  laws,  was  teaching  'Uipalda's  Catechism' and  'French  Ele- 
ments' in  the  public  primary  school.  Supposing  that  1  intended 
at  once  arranging  for  permanent  mission  work,  she  came  around 
to  see  my  host,  to  expostulate  with  him  for  bringing  to  town  a 


Journey  to  Gdmez  Farias.          119 

t 

heretic,  more  to  be  dreaded  than  'the  yellow  fever,  whose  victims 
lilled  the  cemetery. 

"I  had  been  told  that  neither  Spanish  nor  French  females  can 
extemporize  discourse  hut,  I  confess  that  1  never  heard  a  more  en- 
ergetic discourse  from  a  female  orator  in  my  native  land." 

The  results  were  soon  apparent  for  my  host  was 
ordered  out  of  his  house  for  having  brought  a  heretic 
to  town,  and  even  when  the  owners  were  assured 
that  I  was  to  leave  on  the  following  morning  he  was 
only  permitted  to  remain  in  the  house  by  paying 
double  the  former  rate  of  rent. 

The  following  description  of  a  night  by  the  way- 
side may  serve  to  illustrate  the  pleasures  of  camping 
out  in  Mexico. 

•'The  lofty  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  rising  fur  above  the 
rough  summits  of  the  Sierra  de  San  Carlos,  lent  a  bold  and 
pleasing  aspect  to  the  western  hori/on.  Tire  ground  was  every- 
where rough  and  rocky,  and  our  horses  began  to  weary  -as  we 
reached  the  table-land,  and  could  see  the  loftier  trees  which  lose 
in  the  distance,  denoting  the  site  of  a  large  stock  ranch  called  <E1 
Encmal,'  which  we  reached  just  before  dark.  #  #  #  #  Our  saddle 
blankets  of  Sisal  grass  were  spread  upon  the  ground,  and  as  I 
had  brought  shawls  and  a  flannel  blanket,  I  rested  quite  comfort- 
ably, and  being  weary  with  a  ride  of  54  miles,  and  unaccustomed 
to  the  saddle,  I  slept  very  soon  after  dark.  I  awoke  at  3  A.  M.  and 
my  guide  being  chilly,  built  a  fire,  whilst  I  walked  away  from  the 
firelight  to  take  a  view  of  the  starry  heavens:  We  were  in  the 
•centre  of  a  vast  table  land  fully  1000  feet  above  the  sea  level; 
which  gave  us  a  better  field  for  observation  than  1  had  anticipated, 
and  not  a  cloud  interrupted  the  view  of  the  calm 'starlight  of  the 
southern  heavens.  Every  thought  of  fatigue  was  lost  in  a  moment 
as,  resting  its  base  on  the  plain  the  southern  <;ross  stood  bold  and 
brilliant  before  me.  I  seemed  to  imbibe  for  a  moment  that  enthu- 
siasm which  must  have  filled  the  heart  of  Yaseo  de  Gama,  and 
his  companions,  as  their  eyes  rested  for  the  first  time  upon  so 
bright  a  model  of  what'they  held  in  such  high  veneration.  Other 
groups  of  stars,  which  1  now  beheld  for  the  first  time,  revealed  to 
me  what  I  had  so  long  desired  to  see,  the  brightest  gems  of  the 
.southern  heavens.  I  had  never  in  my  previous  visits  to  the  Tropic 
of  Cancer  been  able  to  see,  and  perhaps  1  should  not  on  this 
occasion  had  I  not  slept  upon  the  ground.  The  perpendicular 
position  of  the  Cross  at  the  time  1  first  saw  it  was  the  most 
favorable  that  could  be  desired,  and  my  pious  guide  called  my 
attention  to  it  with  a  feeling  bordering  on  adoration.*1 


120      A  Missionary  ///  the  Saddle. 

t 

Passing  onward  through  Jimenez,  when*  I  found 
sonic  who  h;ul  been  readers  of  k"Kl  Haino  de  Olivo,'r 
and  thence  to  the  Hunch  of  San  Matias,  residence  of 
our  rViend  Ignaeio  Bolado,  whoso  wife  was  still  a 
Roman  Catholic  although  she  received  us  kindly  and 
«'rmed  willing  to  listen  to  the  religious  conversations 
which  1  had  with  her  husband,  the  tirst  step  toward 
her  conversion,  which  took  place  about  two  years 
afterwards. 

Ignaeio  very  kindly  secured  me  a  guide  and  loaned 
me  a  horse,  and  saddle,  and  from  thence  I  crossed 
the  Tamaulipa  Oriental,  at  times  passing  one  or  two- 
days  without  seeing  human  habitations,  when  1  en- 
tered the  more  tropical  region  which  wa»  clearly 
noticeable  on  reaching  Llera. 

The  road  which  we  had  traversed  since  leaving 
Jimenez  was  through  a  region  abounding  in  jaguars 
and  pumas,  as  well  as  the  ocelot,  or  leopard  cat,  and 
the  tiger  cat.  The  puma  is  very  destructive  to  herds., 
being  especially  fond  of  colts.  The  parrots  abound 
wherever  there  are  streamlets. 

We  were  kindly  entertained  at  Llera  by  Pragedis 
Balboa,  a  very  liberal  minded  man  who  conversed 
very  freely  on  religious  matters  and  who  has  ever 
hecn  kind  to  our  missionaries  when  passing  through 
the  village. 

Passing  orfward  from  Llera  we  began  ascending 
the  Sierra  Madre  chain  amid  a  well- watered  but 
precipitous  region,  and  had  to  descend  the  mountains 
by  zigzag  paths,  so  steep  that  I  dared  not  traverse- 
them  on  horseback. 

After  sleeping  all  night  among  the  clouds  on  one 
of  the  elevated  table  lands,  we  descended  to  a  river 
valley  where  giant  thorny  reeds  made  our  pathway 
perilous.  Soon  after  crossing  the  stream  over  a  rough 
bed  of  loose  stones  as  large  as  pumpkinsTwe  entered 
a  dense  tropical  forest  where  giant  trees  bound 
together  with  vines  and  filled  with  parrots  and  other 


Journey  through  Tamaulipas. 

tropical  birds  formed  a  rough  and  picturesque  passage 
between  grotesque  and  precipitous  mountains  with 
projecting  rocky  ledges  on  either  hand  of  the  narrow 
valley,  which  led  us  after  a  journey  of  about  seven 
miles  from  the  ford,  to  the  beautiful  tropical  village 
of  Gromez  Farias.  Here  we  hoped  to  find  one  of  our 
members  whose  wife  was  also  an  attender  of  our 
meetings,  and  who  had  recently  removed  here  from 
Matamoros.  We  hoped  to  be  refreshed  by  their  com- 
pany ere  going  to  visit  Father  Lozano,  which  had 
been  the  principal  object  of  my  visit  to  this  remote 
mountain  village* 

Pablo  Ibarra  was  of  native  origin  and  his  wife  had 
been  born  in  this  village.  He  had  joined  our  Society 
whilst  residing  in  Matamoros,  where  he  was  occupied 
as  a  water  earner.  He  had  returned  to  this  village 
and  was  servant  of  the  presiding  officer  of  the  town, 
and  it  seems  that  like  the  little  captive  girl  in  the 
house  of  Naaman  the  Syrian,  he  had  told  his  master 
so  much  about  our  work  that  he  was  desirous  of 
seeing  me,  and  was  ready  to  do  all  in  his  power  to 
enable  me  to  gain  access  to  the  people. 

Another  object  of  my  journey  was  to  learn  the 
fate  of  our  colporteur  who  had  left  Matamoros  some 
months  previously  and  who  was  last  heard  from  at 
Victoria,  but  had  gone  forward  in  the  direction  of 
Tula  and  Santa  Barbara,  and  who  wre  feared  might 
have  either  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  enemies  or 
have  succumbed  to  disease.  He  had  accompanied 
Luciano  Mascorro  on  his  visit  to  San  Fernando  and 
had  thus  been  exposed  to  the  epidemic  fever  which 
had  spread  alarm  in  all  parts  of  Tamaulipas.  I  had 
intended  to  go  forward  as  far  as  Antiguo  Morelos  in 
search  of  him,  as  he  formerly  resided  there. 

The  wild  beauty  of  the  tropical  forest  was  not 
more  agreeable  than  the  the  scenery  where  the  hand 
of  man  had  subdued  nature,  and  banana  orchards, 
coffee  trees  and  pine-apple  gardens  greeted  the  eye. 


322     Jfh'st  JMci'thuj  at 

"I  began  inquiring  for  our  friend  Pablo  Ibarra,  and  on  reaching 
the  door  his  Mile,  ran  out  to  receive  me,  overjoyed  at  so  unex- 
pected ;i  visit.  I  suppose*!  that  her  husband  was  inside,  and 
entered  hastily  to  salute  him,  but  what  was  my  surprise  as  on 
turning  around  the  door  1  saw  our  colporteur,  Calixto  Lara,  with 
M  large  supply  of  books  and  tracts.  After  a  genuine  Spanish  hug 
I  asked  him  how  lie  knew  that  I  was  coming,  to  which  lie  replied 
that  he  had  not  even  thought  such  an  event  possible.  Impressed 
with  a  belief  that  in  this  village  he  would  be  able  to  sell  books 
enough  to  pay  $2,  which  he  was  owing  in  Santa  Barbara  for  his 
horse;  and  that  he  would  even  have  an  opportunity  to  preach 
to  the  people,  he  had  left  the  latter  village  two  days  before, 
and  but  for  my  late  start  from  Llera,  both  of  us  would  have 
reached  the  same  house  at  the  same  hour  for  the  same  purpose, 
lie  was  putting  on  his  coat  to  go  and  see  Fflther  Lozano,  but  we 
must  now  wait  for  dinner.  A  boy  ran  hastily  to  the  sugar  mill 
to  call  Don  Pablo,  who  was  tis  overjoyed  as  any  of  us.  Whilst 
dinner  was  preparing  his  wife  spoke  to  him  in  a  low  whisper,  and 
he  grasped  his  cleaving  knife  and  started  out -the  backdoor, 
returning  in  a  few  moments  with  a  large  cluster  of  bananas. *' 

"After  dinner  Pablo  went  with  us  to  the  ranch  known  as  'La 
Chinaca,'  residence  of  Father  Lozano,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
town.  The  descent  was  rough,  and  when  it  rains  is  very  slippery. 

••After  passing  through  a  field  of  sugarcane  we  came  in  sight 
of  the  house,  a  long  reed  structure  with  a  palm  leaf  roof,  as  art- 
all  the  houses  in  Gomez  Farias.  Father  Lo/ano  was  dressed  in  the 
usual  style  of  a  city  lawyer,  his  clothes  the  worse  for  the  wear, 
probably  those  he  wore  when  mentor  of  the  State  Congress  as 
our  legislature  is  called.  He  received  us  with  warm-hearted  kind* 
ness  and  Christian  affability,  He  is  extremely  sociable,  humble  in 
his  assertions,  and  charitable  even  to  his  enemies.  He  has  the 
true  spirit  of  nature's  nobleman,  as  some  one  has  called  the  agri 
cultor,  and  says  that  food  raised  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow  is  much 
sweeter  than  when  purchased  with  money." 

''February  2d,  1879.  This  was  the  most  remarkable  day  in  my 
missionary  labor  in  this  land.  The  morning  was  slightly  uncoin> 
fortable,  but  as  soon  a*s  breakfast  was  served  our  colporteur  and 
Pablo  Ibarra  were  passing  about  town  arranging  for  a  public 
meeting.  The  only  place  well  seated  was  the  old  Catholic  Mission 
Chapel,  now  used  for  the  public  school,  and  permission  was  readily 
granted  for  its  use.  At  3  r.  M.  a  company  of  about  100  persons, 
including  nearly  all  the  principal  residents,  and  a  fair  proportion 
of  females  had  gathered  in  the  chapel.  Calixto  Lara  briefly  stated 
the  object  of  our  mission.  I  followed  in  prayer,  and  then  read  some 
verses  of  John  iv:  following  with  an  exposition  of  the  same.  The 
audience  was  greatly  moved  by  the  clear  and  simple  teaching  of 
the  Gospel,  so  that  very  many  shed  tears  and  came  forward  at  the 
to  express  their  satisfaction  with  our  visit  to  their  village." 


First  San  Fernando  Mission.         123 

Ere  I  returned  to  Matamoros,  Angelita  had 
given  birth  to  a  son,  whom  they  had  named  Samuel 
Purdie  Mascorro,  and  of  whose  future  service  in  the 
cause  of  Christ  the  joyful  parents  entertained  fond 
hopes.  A  month  later  they  removed  to  San  Fernan- 
do, hoping  to  open  mission  work  there,  but  met  with 
the  most  decided  opposition.  On  writing  a  petition 
to  the  Mayor  to  register  a  place  of  worship,  Luciano 
was  fined  $20,  for  not  using  stamped  paper,  a  requi- 
site of  which  he  was  ignorant,  and  this  proceeding 
was  without  precedent  and  probably  illegal.  Against 
the  will  of  an  ignorant  and  obstinate  Mayor  there 
Was  no  immediate  remedy,  their  object  was  to  have 
him  imprisoned  for  inability  to  pay  the  fine,  and  they 
boasted  thai  they  would  have  him  sweep  the  streets. 
Two  of  his  acquaintances  paid  the  fine,  but  no  atten- 
tion was  given  to  the  subject  when  brought  again 
before  the  Council,  and  even  the  recommendation 
of  the  Commanding  General  at  Matamoros,  brother 
of  the  Mayor,  was  useless  in  trying  to  get  this  officer 
to  permit  the  opening  of  Protestant  worship  there. 

These  were  severe  trials  to  the  young  mother,  who 
feared  the  consequences  of  her  husband's  arrest.  On 
regaining  his  liberty  he  came  to  Matamoros  to  try  an 
appeal  to  the  Governor,  and  as  Angelita  was  suffer- 
ing from  pain  in  the  breast,  she  came  to  get  medical 
advice.  The  severity  of  the  journey  aggravated  her 
disease,  and  when  she  reached  our  house  she  was 
removed  from  the  carnage  to  a  bed  where  she  lay  for 
some  weeks  in  the  most  intense  suffering.  All  hope 
of  her  recovery  seemed  to  vanish  several  times,  and 
it  was  not  until  the  10th  of  June,  that  she  was  able 
to  sit  up  a  part  of  the  time.  It  had' been  necessary  to 
wean  the  child,  which  was  a  severe  stroke  to  it  and 
on  the  day  Angelita  arose  from  the  bed  it  was  attacked 
with  brain  fever  and  after  lingering  a  few  days  it  died. 

This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  young  parents  but 
was  met  with  Christian  resignation. 


SI 


XI 


o 

Q 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

INTEREST  IN  THE  GOSPEL  AT  FARIAS.  MISSIONARY 
JOURNEY  OF  LUCIANO  MASCORRO  THROUGH  TAMAU- 
LIPAS.  RETURN  IN  COMPANY  WITH  CALIXTO  LARA. 
HINDRANCES  TO  THE  PERMANENT  OCCUPATION  OF 
GOMEZ  FARIAS.  APPEAL  FROM  YUCATAN. 

IFTEK  my  return  from  Gomez  Farias  a  few  months 
elapsed  before  any  news  was  received  from  that 
point  as  to  the  feeling  of  the  people  toward  the 
Gospel  work.  Copies  of  "El  Kamo  de  Olivo"  were 
sent  to  several  of  those  who  had  attended  the  meeting 
held  there  during  iny  visit  and  these  leaflets  were 
fanning  into  a  flame  the  desire  to  hear  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  manifested  by  those  villagers.  The 
distance  however  seemed  for  a  time  to  hinder  any 
effort  to  establish  a  mission  there,  and  had  we 
received  no  further  solicitations  we  might  have 
desisted  from  further  efforts. 

A  few  months  after  my  arrival  at  home  I  received 
a  letter  from  the  teacher  of  the  public  school,  Fran- 
cisco Zamora,  requesting  further  information  about 
our  religious  tenets  and  manifesting  a  desire  to  help 
in  the  work.  This  resulted  in  further  correspondence 
and  it  was  deemed  prudent  for  Luciano  to  traverse 
the  whole  state  and  determine  at  what  point  it 
would  seem  desirable  to  locate  a  permanent  work. 

At  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  Tampico,  no 
point  south  of  Matamoros  had  a  resident  missionary, 
and  it  was  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  attempt  a 
wider  distribution  of  the  evangelical  laborers,  and 
this  visit  was  largely  beneficial  in  this  direction. 

125 


an       Luciano'.*  Missionary  Tour. 

He  left  Matamoros  on  horseback  and  alone,  and  on 
the  second  night  of  his  journey  met  a  company  whose 
leader  seemed  to  take  an  interest  in  the  Gospel  and  to 
whom  he  preached  the  word,  and  having  supplied  them 
with  tracts  pursued  his  journey.  This  interview  hy  the 
wayside  led  to  the  conversion  of  a  whole  family  at  a 
ranch  called  El  Encinal,  and  where  a  Presbyterian 
missionary  preaches  regularly,  though  the  people 
would  have  preferred  to  have  us  organize  the  work 
there.  This  man  has  named  one  of  his  sons  Esteban 
Grellet  Garcia,  in  honor  of  Stephen  Grellet  the 
French  Quaker  evangelist. 

Luciano  stopped  a  few  days  in  San  Fernando  and 
then  pursued  his  journey,  stopping  for  evangelical 
labor  at  El  Eiicinal,  where  he  was  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  his  wayside  convert,  and  thence  to  Jimenez 
where  he  was  instrumental  in  strengthening  the 
faith  of  Ignacio  Bolado,  and  in  removing  in  some 
measure  the  prejudices  which  his  wife  had  imbibed 
against  the  Protestant  religion. 

Pursuing  his  journey  he  found  some  access  to  the 
people  at  Padilla  and  Giiemez  and  delayed  a  week 
at  Victoria,  in  order  to  ascertain  wThat  openings  there 
might  be  for  mission  work  in  that  city,  and  then 
hastened  forward  to  Gomez  Farias,  entering  through 
the  same  gorgeous  scenery  of  the  Pefion  pass,  which 
I  had  entered  nine  months  previously. 

He  found  the  people  rejoiced  at  his  arrival,  and  in 
Francisco  Zamora  he  found  an  earnest  convert  and 
a  ready  coadjutor,  whilst  many  of  those  who  had 
listened  to  me,  gladly  met  to  hear  him. 

Luciano  remained  five  weeks  in  this  beautiful 
mountain  village,  being  joined  providentally  by  our 
colporteur  Calixto  Lara.  Meetings  were  held  twice 
earh  week  and  the  quiet  influence  of  social  religious 
labor  was  very  beneficial  in  establishing  the  con  verts. 
After  this  tarriance,  news  of  revolutionary  movements 


Appeal  from   Yucatan.  127 

led  them  to  return  hastily  to  Matamoros,  where  they 
arrived  about  the  end  of  October. 

One  Sabbath  evening  as  the  assembled  worshippers 
were  gathered  at  religious  service  at  49  Calle  de  Bravo, 
Luciano  and  Calixto  entered  unexpectedly,  and  the 
former  gave  a  detailed  narrative  of  his  religious 
labors  during  an  absence  of  nearly  three  months. 

About  this  time  an  urgent  appeal  was  received 
from  Merida  in  Yucatan,  requesting  us  to  establish 
a  mission  in  that  peninsula,  and  whilst  the  opening 
among  such  a  dense  population  might  seem  especially 
desirable,  and  all  the  more  so  because  the  appeal 
was  entirely  unsolicited,  and  the  firm  belief  of  the 
solicitors  that  a  Friends'  Mission,  was  particularly 
adapted  to  their  needs,  yet  the  crowd  of  work  atten- 
dant upon  building  a  place  of  worship  in  Matamoros, 
and  the  continued  ill  health  of  Angelita  seemed  to 
prevent  our  accepting  for  t}ie  time  being  the  vast 
opening  in  Yucatan,  or  even  to  fill  the  urgent  need 
of  a  permanent  pastor  over  the  flock  at  Gomez  Farias. 
A  supply  of  books  was  sent  to  Merida,  and  our 
school  books  were  introduced  into  some  of  the 
schools  in  that  city,  where  the  most  unyielding  fa- 
naticism has  no  barrier  but  the  most  outspoken  and 
scoffing  infidelity,  of  the  Bob  Ingersoll  type. 

Yucatan  differs  from  most  of  the  other  Mexican 
states  in  being  the  theatre  of  a  war  of  races.  In  most 
parts  of  Mexico  the  wise  plans  of  the  Spanish 
viceroys  had  been  instrumental  in  domesticating  and 
civilizing  the  native  races,  and  the  absence  of 
prejudice  of  race  or  color  had  led  to  an  amalgama- 
tion of  races  and  thus  a  unity  of  interest  and 
relationship  had  bound  the  people  together  as  one. 
In  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan  it  was  otherwise.  There 
was  a  bold,  warlike  iind  numerous  tribe,  called  the 
Lacandoues,  who  dwelt  among  the  dense  forests  of 
the  interior,  and  who  seemed  to  have  no  desire  to  come 
to  terms  with  the  conquerors.  They  then  believed, 


<3 


The  Itza  Civilization.  129 

and  do  even  now,  that  it  is  possible  to  drive  the 
Europeans  from  America  and  blot  out  Christianity, 
so  as  to  restore  the  worship  of  Balaan  Votan. 

Indeed  it  seems  probable  that  they  had  already 
blotted  out  a  preceding  civilization  ere  the  Spanish 
conquerors  landed  upon  their  arid  soil.  Strange  ruins 
abound  in  many  places,  which  some  antiquarians 
suppose  to  be  those  of  Itzalana,  ruined  by  these 
barbarian  hordes  not  long  before  the  conquest,  whilst 
others  would  have  them  as  old  as  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt  or  even  older.  Whatever  be  the  date,  it  is 
evident  that  in  the  architectural  details,  and 
especially  in  sculpture  they  were  far  ahead  of  either 
the  Aztecs  or  the  Incas,  and  not  far  behind  the 
Egyptians,  We  shall  probably  never  have  an  authentic 
history  of  their  greatness,  nor  a  correct  idea  of  their 
fall. 

Whether  that  civilization  was  overthrown  by  the 
Lacandones  or  not,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  the 
existing  civilization  has  more  than  once  been  in 
imminent  peril,  and  they  have  made  the  stronghold 
of  Merida  tremble  at  their  approach.  The  frontier 
towns  are  often  surprised  at  the  dead  of  night  by  an 
attack  from  these  sons  of  the  forest,  and  the  firing 
of  rockets  from  the  municipal  building  soon  gathers 
the  people  to  defend  their  homes  from  the  wild  men 
of  the  desert.  Supplying  themselves  with  arms  and 
ammunition  from  the  British  trading  posts  iu  Balize 
they  are  more  formidable  than  the  Sioux  of  our 
northern  frontier,  whilst  they  at  times  become  allies 
of  the  frontier  towns  of  Vera  Paz  in  Guatemala, 
which  is  the  Republic  of  Central  America  which  has 
the  strongest  antipathies  against  the  Mexican 
government. 

The  thinking  men  of  Merida,  and  especially  some 
of  her  literary  leaders  having  heard  of  the  noble  work 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  conciliating  the  Indians 
of  North  America,  not  only  in  the  settlement  of 

j 


no       re  ace  Principle*  Appreciated. 

Pennsylvania,  but  on  the  frontier  during  the 
administration  of  President  Grant,  were  hoping  that 
some  such  affort  would  be  made  in  Yucatan. 

We  did  not  think  best  to  send  Luciano  to  Yuca- 
tan, and  no  foreign  laborer  was  ready  to  enter  that 
field,  and  as  yet  no  Protestant  mission  is  organized 
there,  and  the  wild  men  of  Chan  Santa  Cruz  are  still 
the  dread  of  the  frontier  settlers  of  Yucatan  and 
Canapeachy. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

BUILDING  OF  FRIENDS'  MISSION  CHAPEL.  CONTINUED 
ILL  HEALTH  OF  ANGELITA.  OPENING  OF  THE  NEW 
PLACE  OF  WORSHIP.  REMOVAL  TO  GOMEZ  FARIAS. 

(HE  fall  of  1879  was  a  memorable  one  in  the 
history  of  the  Friends'  Mexican  Mission  because 
the  building  of  a  place  of  worship  on  one  of  the 

public  squares  changed  greatly  the  sphere  of 
action  of  the  mission.  A  lot  had  been  purchased  a 
year  previous  on  Plaza  de  la  Libertad,  and  after 
many  unexpected  delays  the  Work  was  begun  in 
November  of  that  year. 

All  our  work  was  then  removed  to  that  square, 
and  as  nearly  all  our  members  resided  in  that  vicinity 
the  attendence  became  more  regular  than  before. 

Yet  very  many  who  saw  those  preparations,  and 
who  had  desired  to  see  the  building  completed,  were 
to  be  laid  away  in  their  graves  ere  it  was  finished 
and  opened  for  public  worship. 

The  aged  Petra  Cfarcia  de  Mendez  who  had  so 
often  come  to  meeting  reclining  on  a  staff,  bent 
with  over  ninety  years  of  toil,  was  taken  suddenly 
ill,  and  after  lingering  several  days  died  in  perfect 
trust  and  hope  of  salvation.  The  night  before  her 
death,  after  Luciano  had  read  the  Scriptures  and 
prayed  with  her,  Angelita  began  singing  that 
beautiful  hymn: — "Oh  Sing  to  me  of  Heaven," — and 

131 


132         fHfiffcHts  of  Mission  Work. 

the  dying  Christian  joined  her  voice,  weak  indeed, 
but  joyful,  in  singing  of  that  land  of  unalloyed  rest 
for  the  weary,  where  she  had  so  earnestly  desired  to 
obtain  an  entrance  through  Christ  her  Savior. 

The  following  day  speech  failed  her  but  her  face 
beamed  with  hope,  and  she  gently  passed  away.  Her 
real  age  was  not  known,  though  she  had  seen  Mata- 
moros  grow  from  an  insignificant  ranch  to  a  populous 
city.  In  evidence  before  the  court  she  testified  that 
in  1811,  when  the  first  war  of  Independence  broke  out, 
she  was  married  and  mother  of  three  children;  and 
thus  she  must  have  seen  the  scorching  heat  of  well 
nigh  a  hundred  summers.  We  had  feared  that  so 
aged  a  convert  would  in  second  child-hood  return 
to  Romanism,  but  her  death  and  that  of  an  aged  man 
about  the  same  time  showed  the  keeping  power  of 
Jesus  even  to  those  converted  in  the  decline  of  life. 

The  next  to  follow  was  Patricia  Arriaga  de  Cardo- 
na,  a  woman  of  dark  Indian  cast  and  in  the  meridian 
of  life.  Her  husband  had  joined  us  some  tune  before 
her  conversion  and  had  been  quite  useful  in  drawing 
others  to  attend  our  meeting,  but  had  now  fallen  into 
sin,  and  had  been  disowned  for  adultery. 

This  resulted  in  their  separation  and  the  division  of 
their  children,  and  the  heart-broken  mother  had  to 
struggle  for  a  living.  Lung  disease  had  set  in  and  she 
was  nearing  the  grave.  One  evening  they  sent  for  me 
but  I  was  absent  as  was  also  Luciano,  and  on  reaching 
home  I  hastened  to  the  place,  Angelita  was  there  and 
had  just  read  a  selection  from  the  Scriptures  and  had 
knelt  in  prayer.  The  woman's  husband  had  come  in 
bitter  penitence  and  asked  her  forgiveness  and  was 
holding  her  emaciated  form  in  his  arms.  She  said  that 
her  own  peace  with  God  had  been  clouded,  but  she  had 
sought  forgiveness  and  could  now  rest  on  the  promises 
of  her  Savior.  Some  of  those  sweet  hymns  so  consoling 
to  the  dying  believer  were  sung  as  she  gently  passed 
away,  a  sinner  saved  by  grace,  through  faith  in  Christ. 


Death  of  Useful  Members.  133 

Cecilio  Chavez  had  long  been  a  faithful  elder  in  the 
service  of  the  church  and  we  had  hoped  he  would  long 
remain  to  cheer  and  aid  us.  Lung  disease  now  hastily 
called  him  away.  In  his  last  walk  he  saw  the  trench 
dug  for  the  foundation  of  the  building,  but  a  severe 
norther  had  aggravated  the  disease  and  he  died  sud- 
denly yet  trusting  in  Christ  his  Redeemer.  One  child 
had  preceded  him  and  another  followed  in  a  few  weeks. 

Julian  Mireles  had  been  convinced  of  the  errors  of 
Romanism  by  reading  the  Bible,  one  of  the  earliest 
circulated  here,  which  came  into  his  possession  eight- 
een years  before  our  arrival.  It  was  issued  by  the 
American  Bible  Society  though  of  Scio's  version,  from 
the  Vulgate,  without  notes,  so  that  he  was  one  of  the 
first  fruits  of  Bible  colportage  in  this  country.  He  had 
been  an  elder  several  times  in  our  Mission  Church, 
elders  being  appointed  at  first  every  six  months;  and 
hoped  to  see  the  Mission  Chapel  opened  for  public 
worship.  He  was  also  smitten  with  the  terrible  disease 
which  is  so  fatal  in  this  severe  climate,  and  the  last 
time  he  visited  the  place  the  walls  had  reached  the 
level  of  the  windows.  The  funeral  services  took  place 
in  the  Cemetery  within  the  city  walls,  the  only  time 
I  had  preached  there  except  at  the  grave  of  the  little 
infant  of  Luciano  and  Angelita. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  Angelita  lingered  along 
with  slight  fluctuations,  through  usually  able  to  attend 
meetings.  She  often  prayed  that  she  might  be  spared 
to  see  the  building  completed,  and  her  prayer  was 
granted.  She  was  able  to  be  present  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  brisk  rain  see  the  building  crowded  with 
people.  The  occasion  will  long  be  remembered,  the 
rejoicing  of  the  members  and  the  earnest  preaching 
impressed  many  hearts,  and  some  who  were  there  for 
the  first  time  out  of  curiosity,  afterwards  were  added 
to  the  fold. 

The  physicians  had  used  every  effort  of  medical 
science  to  save  the  life  of  Angelita  and  they  now 


/.•;•/         Itcinowil  to  (Jotttrz  Farias. 

considered  her  case  hopeless.  A  journey  to  the  moun- 
tains offered  a  slight  hope,  and  as  we  very  anxious  to 
gather  those  who  were  awakened  at  Gomez  Farias 
during  my  visit  and  a  year  later  by  a  brief  tarriance 
there  of  one  month  by  Luciano  Mascorro,  they  were 
encouraged  to  go  to  that  distant  field.  Efforts  were 
made  to  make  Angelita  as  comfortable  as  possible 
during  the  long  overland  journey,  which  was  to  be 
accomplished  in  an  ambulance. 

Never  can  we  forget  the  beautiful  day  of  her 
departure  from  this  city.  A  solemn  parting  meeting 
was  held  at  their  residence,  as  several  members,  and 
among  them  her  most  intimate  bosom  friend, 
Gulielma,  could  not  accompany  her  outside  the 
city  gate. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  misgivings  of  those 
who  were  present,  Angelita  had  high  hopes  of  a 
recovery  and  was  more  cheerful  than  we  had  expected, 
as  she  had  to  bid  farewell  to  her  mother,  sister  and 
brother,  whilst  to  the  members  who  had  been  brought 
to  Christ  through  her  influence  she  was  even  more 
tenderly  attached. 

Many  of  these  accompanied  her  outside  the  city 
walls  to  the  grassy  plains  where  the  ambulance  was 
waiting  for  the  custom  passes  to  be  signed.  Of  this 
number  no  one  attracted  more  attention  than  our 
Canadian  co-laborer,  W.  A,  Walls,  who  used  every 
endeavor  to  make  himself  understood  by  Angelitay 
who  told  him  that  she  desired  to  recover  in  order  to 
.work  for  Christ  in  the  public  ministry  of  the  Gospel. 

After  a  long  and  interesting  parting  interview  they 
pursued  their  journey  and  we  returned  to  our  homes, 
earnestly  desiring  but  hardly  venturing  to  hope  for 
the  fulfillment  of  this  sanguine  wish  of  Angelita. 

She  suffered  considerably  from  the  fatigue  insepar- 
able from  an  overland  jouney  of  three  hundred  miles. 
to  Victoria,  capital  of  the  State  of  Tamaulipas,  where 
they  spent  a  few  weeks-  in  order  to  rest  and  recruit,. 


Victoria  of  Tamaulipas.  135 

ore  proceeding  to  their  final  destination  at  Gomez 
Farias.  She  was  greatly  interested  by  the  change  of 
scenery,  from  the  dead  uniformity  of  the  plains  of 
northern  Tamaulipas,  to  the  giant  folds  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  and  her  tarriance  in  the  most  beautiful  city  of 
the  state  was  temporarily  helpful  to  her.  She  was 
cheered  by  the  view  of  innumerable  orange  orchards, 
and  by  the  beautiful  alameda  or  park  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  the  street  leading  to  which  is  lined  with 
sycamores,  which  are  watered  constantly  by  the 
strongest  channels  of  the  irrigating  works,  which 
distribute  the  water  of  the  river  San  Marcos  to  the 
orange  orchards  of  the  city,  and  the  corn  and  cane- 
fields  of  the  surounding  plains. 


It  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  city  of  Victoria, 
'as  its  buildings  are  hidden  by  the  dense  shade  of  its 
orange  groves,  but  these  make  it  look  so  green  and 
refreshing  as  to  attract  the  traveller  to  its  .bosom, 
whilst  the  bold  outline  of  the  Sierra  Madre  to  the 
westward,  with  the  Sierra  of  San  Carlos  to  the 
northward,  and  a  series  of  isolated  hills  to  the  east- 
ward, present  a  striking  contrast  to  the  unvarying 
uniformity  of  the  surroundings  of  most  of  the  other 
cities  of  Tamaulipas.  The  Presbyterian  Mission  had 


136       Removal  to  Gomez  Faritis. 

been  but  recently  established,  but  even  there  they 
found  work  to  do  for  Christ  during  their  tarriaiice. 

Arrangements  were  finally  perfected  for  their  jour- 
ney from  Victoria  to  Gomez  Farias,  which  was  to  be 
accomplished  on  horseback,  by  mule  paths  leading 
between  the  folds  of  the  mountains,  and  with  one  or 
two  pack  animals  for  their  baggage.  The  journey 
proved  more  fatiguing  than  they  had  anticipated  as 
it  rained  constantly  and  they  were  often  detained  by 
flooded  streams,  having  to  spend  a  few  days  in  some 
ranches  by  the  wayside  until  the  streams  could  be 
crossed.  Thus  a  journey  which  in  good  weather  could 
be  accomplished  in  less  than  three  days  occupied 
nine,  and  the  already  delicate  health  of  Angelita  was 
severely  tried  by  the  exposure,  and  the  beginning  of 
their  mission  work  was  interrupted  by  her  cough,  thus 
her  husband  was  unable  to  do  much  pastoral  work 
from  the  necessity  of  constant  attention  at  her 
bedside. 

Meetings  were  kept  up  every  Sabbath  in  the  village 
chapel,  which  was  kindly  furnished  by  the  authori- 
ties, who  were  favorable  to  the  mission,  and  every 
night  a  Bible  Class  was  kept  up  at  their  house. 
About  a  month  later  the  believers  were  organized 
into  a  church,  by  the  admission  of  sixteen  members, 
and  thus  permanent  work  was  organized,  the  nucleus 
of  a  now  flourishing  mission  church,  among  the 
banana  groves  of  Gomez  Farias. 

Luciano  was  kept  at  home  so  strictly  by  the  illness 
of  Angelita  that  we  received  no  news  from  him  for 
several  months,  there  being  no  post-office  in  the 
village,  and  the  facilities  of  communication  were 
interrupted  by  the  rainy  season  in  the  mountains. 

Our  anxiety  about  them  induced  us  to  send 
W.  A.  Walls  to  that  village  to  learn  their  fate.  The 
circumstances  connected  with  this  wonderful  journey, 
and  his  narrow  escape  from  imminent  perils  must 
form  part  of  another  chapter,  as  events  at  Matamo- 


Events  at  Matamoros. 


137 


ros  of  great  moment  to  the  future  of  the  mission 
must  claim  our  attention,  for  whilst  they  were  wan- 
dering among  the  flooded  streams  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  the  city  of  Matamoros  had  been  nearly  swept 
away  by  a  terrific  hurricane  and  its  attendant  inun- 
dation, news  of  which  reached  our  Friends  in  their 
mountain  home  and  awakened  their  anxiety  about 
the  dear  ones  they  had  left  behind  them. 


Mexican  ffliife  The  Pomegranate. 


INKTING  tiOUSt  IWW&0&  MEXICO. 

The  d:iy  following  the  hurricane  of  1880, 


CHAPTER    XX. 

HURRICANE  AT  MATAMOROS.    SMALL-POX.  W.  A. 

VISITS  THE  SOUTHERN  MISSION.  A  NARROW  ESCAPE. 
FLIGHT  or  GULIELMA.  W.  A.  WALLS  REVISITS  THE 
SOUTHERN  MISSION. 

UNEXPECTED  and  thrilling  events  now  crowded 
upon  the  mission  in  such  quick  succession  that 
our  faith,  accustomed  to  sudden  and  severe 
provings,  was  tried  to  the  uttermost.  But  a  little 
over  a  month  after  the  departure  of  Luciano  and 
Angelita  for  Gomez  Farias,  and  just  as  the  city  wa£ 
trembling  with  anxiety  at  a  threatening  inundation, 
one  of  those  terrible  Gulf  hurricanes,  so  dreaded 
upon  this  coast,  broke  with  unrelenting  force  upon 
the  city,  spreading  desolation  and  distress  upon  every 
hand. 

Never  can  the  terrific  scenes  of  that  dark  night  be 
effaced  from  memory,  and  although  vivid  in  our 
recollection,  how  much  more  so  must  it  have  been  to 
those  houseless  amid  the  maddening  fury  of  the 
storm,  clinging  to  the  ruins  of  their  homes,  who 
passed  the  night  in  the  open  air,  unprotected  from 
the  piercing  blast. 

The  dreadful  hurricanes  of  1867  and  1874  were 
still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  many  of  the  citizens, 
and  the  ruins  they  left  were  still  to  be  seen  in  many 
parts  of  the  city,  and  whilst  more  damage  was  done 
to  costly  edifices  in  1867,  and  that  of  1874  lasted  72 
hours,  and  was  therefore  more  tedious,  the  hurricane 

139 


140        Hurricane  at  Matamoros. 

of  August  13th,  1880  fell  with  more  force  upon  the 
working  class,  and  the  morning  of  the  14th, 
dawned  upon  the  ruins  of  1615  houses,  mostly 
belonging  to  the  poorer  class  of  residents. 

During  all  day  of  the  13th,  the  police  force  was 
busy  in  gathering  the  poor  people  from  those 
shanties  which  seemed  likely  to  fall,  and  some 
buildings  near  us  fell  during  the  afternoon,  yet  the 
greater  part  of  the  destruction  took  place  between 
sundown  and  midnight,  when  there  was  a  lull, 
followed  by  the  dreaded  south  wind.  One  of  our 
members  brought  his  wife,  with  her  new-born  child, 
to  take  refuge  in  our  house,  and  to  satisfy  her  as  well 
as  to  ascertain  how  our  neighbors  had  fared,  accom- 
panied by  W.  A.  Walls  I  made  a  tour  around  Liberty 
Square,  finding  the  house  of  our  friend  still  standing, 
though  five  buildings  on  the  south  side  of  the  square, 
between  our  own  and  the  store  of  I.  Portilla  had  been 
blown  to  pieces,  and  the  fragments  distributed 
indiscriminately.  The  roof  of  a  carriage  shop  adjoin- 
ing our  residence  had  been  blown  over  our  sitting 
room,  throwing  down  some  bricks  from  the  parapet 
wall,  and  then  striking  our  kitchen  had  thrown  down 
about  half  of  the  gable,  our  school  building  was 
demolished,  and  the  yard  filled  with  fragments  of 
neighboring  buildings.  During  the  whole  storm  both 
myself  and  Bro.  Walls  were  busily  occupied  in 
bailing  out  the  water  which  the  wind  was  forcing 
under  our  north  doors,  and  threatening  us  with  an 
inundation.  It  is  note-worthy  that  after  having  been 
a  sufferer  from  rheumatism  for  some  months,  and 
even  during  the  first  part  of  the  storm,  I  was  forced 
to  walk  about  barefoot,  and  often  in  several  inches  of 
water  for  about  nine  hours,  and  suffered  no  incon- 
venience, nor  did  the  disease  reappear. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  visits  during  that  me- 
morable night  was  to  the  residence  of  our  friend  and 
fellow-laborer  Julio  Gonzalez  Gea,  for  on  visiting 


Hurricane  at  Matamoros.          141 

our  meeting  house  which  had  suffered  considerably, 
we  passed  over  the  ruins  of  fences  and  shanties  to 
his  house,  and  seeing  a  light  inside  we  knocked.  We 
found  his  children  asleep,  and  the  Bible  lay  open 
upon  the  table,  where  during  the  force  of  the  storm 
he  had  been  reading  the  Psalms  of  David  and 
engaged  in  earnest  prayer  for  his  fellow-beings.  We 
saw  him  in  an  hour  when  all  gloss  was  cast  aside, 
but  he  was  relying  upon  the  promises  of  God.  We 
never  afterwards  doubted  the  sincerity  of  his  faith 
in  Christ. 

Many  of  our  members  had  lost  their  houses,  and 
were  suffering  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  we 
obtained  a  loan  from  a  merchant  to  supply  their 
wants,  which  was  replaced  by  donations  from  Friends 
in  the  United  States  and  England.  However  it  was 
several  weeks  ere  we  had  any  mail  facilities,  the 
railroad  from  Brownsville  to  the  coast  was  destroyed 
so  that  vessels  could  not  discharge  their  freight,  and 
we  had  to  do  what  seemed  best  and  leave  the  conse- 
quences with  our  Lord. 

We  may  here  remark  that  before  it  was  possible 
for  us  to  send  either  a  telegram  or  a  letter  to  Rich- 
mond, the  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Com- 
mittee, Timothy  Harrison,  had  sent  all  the  funds  at 
their  disposal  for  immediate  use  in  the  emergency. 

Collections  were  taken  among  the  wealthy  to  aid 
the  poor  and  as  our  Mexican  telegraph  lines  were 
not  destroyed,  the  news  of  our  disaster  stirred  the 
whole  republic,  and  funds  were  speedily  gathered  to 
relieve  the  sufferers. 

Nearly  one  third  of  the  houses  having  been  de- 
stroyed and  one  third  of  the  town  being  still  inunda- 
ted, the  poor  people  were  lodged  in  the  school  and 
municipal  buildings  as  well  as  in  those  houses  which 
were  unoccupied  at  the  time,  which  were  seized  by 
the  authorities  for  that  purpose. 


ii-j     JT.  .1.    ltralls visits  G6mez 

The  small-pox,  which  had  become  a  constant 
resident  of  the  suburbs,  now  broke  out  with  relent- 
less fury  in  the  central  part  of  the  city,  no  reliable 
vaccine  matter  was  to  be  had,  and  before  our  mails 
were  re-established  so  that  it  could  reach  us,  the 
.disease  had  invaded  nearly  every  ward  of  the  city, 
and  more  then  500  persons  had  fallen  victims  to  the 
scourge,  among  them  several  of  our  flock. 

Whilst  this  dark  cloud  was  gathering  over  us,  our 
anxiety  about  Luciano  and  Angelita  was  daily 
increasing,  overland  travel  was  greatly  interrupted 
by  the  inundation,  which  had  flooded  the  whole 
country  and  communication  by  sea  with  Tampico 
was  equally  impracticable. 

It  was  however  decided  that  W.  A.  Walls  should 
make  the  attempt  to  reach  them  and  it  was  not  until 
after  his  ticket  was  purchased  by  the  coast  line  of 
Steamers  that  we  found  that  no  carriage  driver  would 
attempt  the  journey.  We  finally  engaged  a  cart-man 
who  left  the  city  at  10  P.  M.  became  bogged  in  the 
lagoon  and  after  swimming  about  for  hours  in  search 
of  a  practicable  route  across  the  lagoon,  reached  our 
house  in  his  defeat  at  4  on  the  following  morning. 

Friend  Walls  ate  breakfast  and  retired  to  rest 
after  his  exposure  during  the  night,  when  our  ener- 
getic'book  agent,  Antonio  Ramirez  had  two  cartmen 
with  three  strong  mules  ready  to  take  the  risk  of 
placing  our  friend  in  a  certainty  of  reaching  Bagdad. 

They  reached  at  last  a  lagoon  five  miles  across, 
into  which  they  drove  until  our  friends  were  stand- 
ing up  to  their  knees  in  water,  the  cart  wheels  being 
entirely  submerged  and  it  was  evident  that  they  could 
go  110  further.  Fortunately  they  saw  a  boat  which 
was  repairing  the  telegraph  line  across  the  lagoon,  to 
which  they  made  signals  of  distress  and  our  Friend 
was  taken  on  board  and  on  their  return  for  the 
night  he  was  taken  to  Bagdad.  The  steamer  arrived 
next  day,  but  a  norther  was  blowing  so  that  she 


143  Angelita' s  ^vork  at  Gtimez  Farias. 

could  not  communicate  with  the  shore,  thus  Friend 
Walls  was  obliged  to  return,  which  he  did  in  compa- 
ny with  some  military  officers,  having  to  help  row 
the  boat  against  the  current  of  the  lagoon  for  about 
ten  miles.  On  landing  he  hired  a  horse  for  his  return 
journey,  and  apian  to  rob  him  appears  to  have  been 
frustrated  by  his  meeting  Antonio  Ramirez,  whom  we 
had  sent  for  him,  ere  his  pursuers  had  overtaken  him. 

This  unfortunate  journey  from  Matamoros  to  Bag- 
dad and  return,  a  total  of  about  sixty  miles  travel, 
had  cost  us  $40.  at  a  time  when  money  was  scarce, 
and  for  a  few  hours  we  thought  any  further  effort 
undesirable. 

However  we  learned  that  a  cart  from  Victoria  was 
to  return  empty,  and  it  seemed  possible  for  them  to 
conduct  him  safely  thus  far,  and  a  '  Presbyterian 
Mission  having  been  established  there  we  could  have 
him  safely  acompanied  to  Gomez  Farias.  They 
offered  him  a  passage  for  twelve  dollars,  which  was 
accepted,  and  finaly  we  decided  to  send  Manuel 
brother  of  'Angelita,  not  only  to  cheer  her,  but  to 
save  him  from  the  epidemic. 

They  reached  their  destination  safely  in  about  two 
weeks,  and  found  Angelita  alone,  as  Luciano  had 
come  to  Victoria  to  mail  letters,  by  another  route, 
and  did  not  reach  home  for  a  day  or  two  after  our 
Friend's  arrival.  However  a  Bible  Class  was  kept  up 
by  Angelita  in  his  absence,  though^  she  was  confined 
to  her  bed  most  of  the  time,  and  was  evidently  nearing 
the  grave,  she  had  however  been  actively  engaged  in 
persuading  the  people  to  abandon  the  worship  of 
stocks  and  stones,  and  worship  Grod  in  spirit  and  in 
truth. Writing  at  this  timefor  "El  Ramo  de  Olivo"  she 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  benighted  condition 
of  the  people  among  whom  she  was  laboring,  and 
whom  she  was  striving  to  lead  to  Christ. 

"Last  year,  in  what  are  called  the  holy  days,  (or  Lent,)  notice 
was  spread  abroad  that  in  one  of  the  ranches  near  this  village  a 


144        irortihip  of  f/te  Viryin  Mary. 


Virgin  had  appeared  in  the  shade  of  a  green  lemon   tree.  Hint 

<;<•»!,  beholding  the  wickedness  of  men,  (s;tid  tin-  precursor  of  the 
Virgin,  a  girl  of  fifteen  summers,)  had  sent  that  image  to  let  the 
world  know  that  it'  the  people  did  not  do  penance,  (iod  would 
make  an  end  of  mankind.  So  soon  as  this  notice  spread  among 
the  ranches,  the  females  of  this  and  other  villages  gathered  in 
great  numbers  to  adore  the  Virgin,  and  from  a  certain  distance. 
they  walked  on  their  knees  with  lighted  candles  in  their  hands  to 
the  trunk  of  the  lemon  tree,  where  they  beheld  a  small  round 
stone  surrounded  by  artificial  flowers,  which  the  ignorance  and 
fanaticism  of  the  people  had  converted  into  an  image  of  the 
Virgin  of  Guadalupe,  although  in  reality  it  was  nothing  more. 
than  one  of  the  many  beautiful  stones  to  be  found  in  the  bed  of 
our  streams,  adorned  by  seams  of  varied  color. 

"Not  women  alone,  on  this  occasion,  but  also  men  noted  in  these, 
parts  for  their  learning,  reverently  approached  the  lemon  tree  on 
their  knees  to  worship  the  image,  repeated  their  prayers  and  sang 
hymns  to  the  Virgin.  No  true  picture  of  the  Virgin  was  to  be 
seen,  even  when  these  pious  people  looked  earnestly  and  wiping 
their  eyes  looked  again.  Although  some  declared  that  they  saw 
it,  the  greater  part  went  away  as  they  came,  having  seen  no  more 
than  a  stone  rounded  by  the  action  of  water  in  a  mountain 
stream,  'Your  many  sins  prevent  your  seeing  it,'  said  a  man 
whose  fanaticism  made  him  see  the  invisible,  to  a  man  of  con- 
siderable intelligence  who  had  failed  to  see  the  likeness.  'It  may 
be  so/  replied  the  man  weeping  with  hopelessness  for  his  many 
sins.  The  penitent  went  back  to  the  starting  point  and  again 
upon  his  knees  traversed  the  penitential  space  and  reverently 
bowed  and  worshipped  the  stone,  and  then  looking  closely  failed 
to  perceive  the  likeness,  and  returned  again,  hoping  that  the  sharp 
.stones  which  were  cutting  his  knees  would  make  God  merciful  to 
the  penitent  sinner,  when  all  pain  would  be  forgotten  in  the  joy 
of  beholding  face  to  face  the  immaculate  Virgin.  But  all  his  tears 
were  in  vain. 

"Oh  church  of  Borne!  why  dost  thou  call  thyself  the  church  of 
Christ,  whilst  teaching  a  way  of  salvation  which  he  taught  not! 
Why  dost  thou  not  teach  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Way,  the 
Truth  and  the  Life,  and  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  hath 
pardon  and  salvation? 

"But  to  return  to  my  narrative.  The  pain  caused  by  his  wounds 
induced  our  penitent  to  return  home  and  apply  a  remedy.  His 
wife  asked  him  what  he  knew  about  the  Virgin,  and  he  replied 
that  it  was  a  fable  invented  to  deceive  the  credulous,  and  that 
notwithstanding  having  skinned  his  knees  he  had  seen  nothing. 

"  'You  had  better  not  be  too  hasty,"  replied  his  wife,  but  ere 
many  weeks  the  greater  part  of  the  people  became  convinced 
that  it  was  simply  a  stone  which  the  hand  of  man  had  placed  in 
the  fork  of  the  lemon  tree. 


Narrow  Escape  from  Robbers. 

"I  cannot  tell  all  which  has  been  told  me  about  this  Virgin 
but  in  it  we  have  another  proof  of  what  Christ  in  the  Gospel  tells 
us:  —  'That  the  people  loved  darkness  rather  than  Light.' 

"I  said  at  first  that  I  intended  to  tell  you  about  the  work  of  the 
Lord  in  these  parts,  and  you  will  be  ray  companions  in  rejoicing 
that  some  of  our  countrymen  are  receiving  the  Gospel,  or  at  least 
here  they  listen  joyfully  to  the  Word  of  God.  I  may  say  again 
that  my  soul  is  full  of  pleasure  and  rejoicing,  as  well  as  of  grati- 
tude to  God,  when  I  see  many  women  who  formerly  believed  in 
the  worship  of  saints,  and  some  of  whom  went  to  see  the  Virgin 
in  the  lemon  tree,  who  now  truly  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
doctrine;  and  are  ready  to  confess  these  before  men;  joining  our 
church  in  Gomez  Farias,  and  many  more  who  constantly  attend 
the  meetings  and  listen  reverently  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 

UI  can  say  the  same  of  many  men  who  are  interested  in  the 
cause  of  Christ,  and  exhort  their  relatives  and  friends  to  search 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  the  only  fountain  of  divinely  inspired 
teachings;  and  some  of  these  are  members  and  many  more  are 
believers  in  Christ. 

"But  whilst  I  rejoice  for  those  sisters  who  have  departed  from 
error,  believing  in  the  only  perfect  Savior,  and  true  Eefuge  of 
sinners,  Christ  Jesus,  my  heart  is  filled  with  mourning  to  see  so 
many  who  persist  in  rebellion  against  God,  worshipping,  not 
our  Redeemer,  but  dumb  idols  which  are  offensive  to  him,  and 
which  can  be  of  no  service  to  them  in  the  final  hour  of  life.  But 
we  must  pray  for  such,  and  ask  God  to  give  them  light  and  grace 
to  know  him  of  a  truth. 

"Lastly,  dear  sisters,  I  salute  you  with  an  embrace  of  love  in 
Christ,  asking  God  to  bless  you  and  fill  you  with  his  Spirit,  that 
you  may  walk  in  the  path  which  he  has  pointed  out  in  his  Gospel, 
in  order  that  you  may  be  prepared  for  the  parting  hour. 

"As  ever,  you  sister  in  the  faith  of  Christ  our  Savior. 


de 

Ha  de  Hera,  January  1st,  1881." 

Our  friend  W.  A.  Walls  returned  to  Matamoros, 
hastily  and  alone,  to  consult  about  the  work,  and 
when  only  about  thirty  miles  from  the  city  was 
surrounded  by  three  highway  robbers  who  endeavored 
to  induce  him  to  leave  the  main  road  and  take  a  by 
path  where  they  could  cariy  out  their  design.  A 
presentiment  of  danger  induced  him  to  refuse  to 
accompany  them  and  after  threatening  his  life,  and 
thereby  receiving  a  strong  lesson  from  his  readiness 
to  die  if  that  were  the  Lord's  will,  they  left  him  after 

K 


tin      \(tr)'otr  Kxcdpc  of  W.  A.  Wall**. 


receiving  from  him  half  a  dollar,  although  he  told 
them  that  he  had  more,  but  needed  it  for  his  journey 
It  was  very  late  one  dark  night  about  the  middle  of 
November  that  a  loud  call  at  our  door  summoned  me 
from  my  studies,  and  recognizing  the  voice  of  Bro. 
Walls,  I  hastened  to  the  door,  when  he  said  us 
I  opened  it,  "Behold  a  certain  man  going  from 
Jerusalem  to  Jehrico  fell  among  thieves." 

I  did  not  ask  an  explanation  but  hastened  to  the 
yard  to  open  the  gate  to  admit  his  horse,  and  on  dis- 
mounting he  jovially  said  that  he  had  a  bag  of  oranges 
for  Grulielma.  I  replied  that  she  was  in  North  Carolina, 
to  which  he  paid  no  attention,  and  it  was  not  until 
he  had  entered  the  house,  and  found  me  alone,  that 
each  became  convinced  that  what  had  seemed  joking 
was  sober  reality. 

The  giant  strides  of  the  epidemic  and  the  impossi- 
bility of  vaccination,  as  well  as  the  constant  danger 
of  the  contagion,  since  persons  covered  with  the  raw 
sores  came  daily  to  our  doors  to  ask  for  some  aid,  or 
to  fulfil  some  errand,  put  our  only  child,  a  boy  of  six 
weeks  so  constantly  in  danger,  that  Grulielma,  witli 
a  mother's  solicitude,  determined  to  hasten  her  pro- 
posed visit  to  her  parents,  after  an  absence  of  ten 
years,  and  had  already  reached  her  destination. 

At  first  we  thought  best  for  Bro.  Walls  to  fill  my 
place,  to  allow  me  to  join  my  wife  in  her  visit,  but  it 
was  finally  determined  that  he  should  return  to  the 
Southern  Mission  in  company  with  Francisco  Pena, 
who  had  recently  begun  preaching  the  Gospel,  whilst 
it  seemed  advisable  for  Luciano  and  Angelita  to 
retire  to  Llera  where  the  houses  were  [better  adapted 
to  her  comfort  during  the  winter  season  so  that  early 
in  December  our  friends  were  again  traversing  the 
state,  and  Bros.  Walls  and  Pena  were  ministering  to 
the  church  at  Farias,  and  Luciano  and  Angelita  were 
leathering  a  congregation  in  Llera. 


Conversion  of  an  Aged  Mexican.     147 

Whilst  Angelita  lived  in  Farias,  she  stayed  at  the 
house  of  Antonia  Rosas,  whose  father  while  person- 
ally friendly  to  her,  was  very  much  opposed  to  her 
religion. 

He  was  a  little  deaf  and  used  his  deafness  as  a 
shield,  always  becoming  quite  unable  to  hear  so  soon 
as  the  subject  of  personal  salvation  was  introduced. 
He  slept  in  the  kitchen  in  order  not  to  be  present  at 
family  prayer,  a  custom  which  he  continued  whilst 
Francisco  Pena  and  W.  A.  Walls  lived  in  the  house. 
When  the  lattei^  commenced  teaching  his  grand- 
children, the  old  man  who  was  intelligent,  although 
uneducated,  was  very  anxious  that  the  children  should 
make  progress  in  their  studies,  and  to  encourage 
them  he  listened  to  their  accounts  of  what  they  had 
learned  during  the  day.  He  thus  heard  many  texts  of 
Scripture,  and  as  afterwards  appeared  learned  several 
hymns  by  heart.  During  all  these  years  since  Ange- 
lita's  visit,  prayer  was  continually  offered  for  his 
conversion.  Bro.  Gonzalez  was  surprised  to  learn  that 
old  Andrew  had  sent  for  him,  and  on  reaching  the 
house  he  was  met  with  the  inquiry;  — "What  must  I 
do  to  be  saved."  He  explained  to  him  the  work  of 
Christ  as  our  Savior.  The  aged  penitent  said; —  UI 
know  that  is  so,"  and  repeated  several  conclusive 
texts  which  he  had  learned  from  the  children. 

He  lived  about  six  months  after  his  conversion. 
When  he  accepted  Christ,  he  did  so  so  fully  that  he 
never  asked  for  the  images  of  saints,  the  crosses  and 
medals  in  which  he  formerly  trusted,  and  was  very 
thankful  to  be  saved  from  dying  in  idolatry. 

Ere  closing  this  chapter  it  may  be  well  to  give  a 
further  insight  into  the  singular  experience  of  Bro. 
Walls  with  the  Mexican  highwaymen,  which  we  do 
in  his  own  words  as  published  at  the  time  in  the 
"Christian  Worker" 

We  had  already  warned  him  of  the  danger  of 
travelling  alone  and  certainly  should  have  protested 


\ftrrow  Escape  of  W.  A.  Wallx. 

most  earnestly  against  it,  but  his  decision  was  made 
over  four  hundred  miles  away  and  carried  out  without 
our  consent. 

"Before  reaching  Matamoros  I  got  a  lesson  which  would  have 
convinced  the  sturdiest  of  doubters.  On  Tuesday  started  at  .'i 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  partly  because  the  rain  made  my  ebony 
bush  an  uncomfortable  roof,  and  partly  because  a  seventy  mile 
trip  lay  between  my  bedroom  and  Matamoros.  About  9  in  the 
morning  I  was  overtaken  by  three  horsemen,  all  on  good  horses, 
but  as  we  were  within  sight  of  a  farm  they  simply  passed  the 
usual  'Buenos  dias,  sefior,'  and  rode  on  to  the  house.  I  did  not 
like  their  appearance,  but  as  I  had  no  business  at  the  farm  I  rode 
quietly  past.  When  about  a  mile  beyond  I  was  again  over- 
taken by  the  same  company,  and  they  now  proposed  that  we 
should  journey  to  Matamoros  together.  Consenting  to  the  arrange- 
ment, one  of  them  went  immediately  in  front  and  the  others 
one  at  each  side  of  my  horse. 

"As  this  order  of  march  was  a  little  suspicious,  I  turned  my 
beast  suddenly,  so  as  to  be  at  the  side  of  the  road,  and  saw  that 
one  of  my  companions  had  a  pistol  in  his  hand,  which  he  put  out 
of  sight  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  supposed  it  had  escaped 
observation.  I  now  knew  the  character  of  my  companions,  and 
could  simply  put  up  a  fervent  petition  to  our  Father  for  protec- 
tion. The  leader  of  the  company  offered  to  show  me  a  shorter 
road  to  Matamoros,  and  proposed  that  wre  should  leave  the  high 
way  to  find  this  short  cut.  When  I  declined  this  obliging  offer, 
which  was  intended  to  draw  me  into  the  chapparal,  where  the 
buzzards  would  probably  be  the  only  discoverers  of  the  body,  he 
threw  off  his  mask  of  pretended  kindness,  and  pointing  his  pistol 
at  my  head,  threatened  me  with  instant  death  if  I  did  not  follow 
the  foremost  of  the  company.  As  it  seemed  like  leaving  the  path 
of  duty,  I  refused  to  leave  the  only  place  in  which  I  had  a  right 
to  expect  God's  protection.  The  front  man  now  seized  my  horse's 
halter  and  attempted  to  lead  him  away  from  the  road.  I  at  once 
dismounted  and  with  a  jerk  freed  the  rope  from  his  grasp. 

*"  Knives,  men,'  said  the  captain,  and  two  knives,  each  over  a 
foot  long,  were  held  threateningly  over  my  breast.  Then  the 
captain  a  second  time  ordered  me,  on  pain  of  immediate  death, 
to  accompany  them  to  the  northward.  The  reply  was,  'You  may 
kill  me  if  you  will,  it  makes  no  difference  to  mej  thanks  to  God  I 
am  ready,  but  this  is  my  road,  and  from  here  I  will  not  go.'  'Are 
you  prepared?'  'Yes.'  The  idea  seemed  a  novel  one,  and  the 
knives  disappeared,  though  the  pistol,  with  its  five  barrels  all 
Charged,  still  remained  pointed  at  my  face.  I  then  asked  who 
they  were,  and  where  they  lived,  and  was  told  that  they  were 


Narrow  Escape  from  Highwaymen.  149 

'Gentlemen  of  St.  John,'  and  lived  under  the  moon.  He  now 
demanded  my  money.  I  gave  him  a  fifty-cent  piece  which  I  had 
in  myi  pocket,  not  caring  to  show  my  purse,  which  contained 
about  eight  dollars — more  than  I  could  afford  to  lose.  He 
said : —  'It  is  very  little;  have  you  no  more?'  'Yes,,  but  I  need 
the  rest,'  which  was  quite  true. 

He  again  asked  for  it,  but  in  a  somewhat  doubtful  tone,  as  if 
he  expected  to  be  refused,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  need  make 
no  further  sacrifice,  so  I  told  him  that  I  could  spare  the  half-dol- 
lar, but  no  more.  'Vamos,  let  us  be  off,'  he  said  to  his  fellow 
bandits,  and  they  galloped  on  at  a  lively  rate. 

"Returning  thanks  to  God,  who  had  so  wonderfully  delivered 
me  from  the  hands  of  these  highwaymen,  I  remounted  and  at  a 
slower  pace  followed.  Certainly  it  is  not  usual  for  the  Mexican 
'road  agents'  to  let  their  victim  escape  with  his  life,  much  less 
to  carry  his  money  out  of  their  hands.  I  can  only  praise  God, 
who,  in  the  moment  of  peril,  kept  my  mind  perfectly  quiet. 
When  I  refused  to  leave  the  road  I  expected  to  receive  a  shot 
instantly,  and  as  the  mind  works  with  more  than  lightning  rapi- 
dity the  thought  of  past  occupations,  apparently  important  once, 
but  now,  when  face  to  face  with  eternity,  utterly  trivial,  filled  me 
with  shame  for  wasted  opportunities;  at  the  same  time  I  had  an 
unutterable  gladness  at  the  thought  that  sudden  death  was  sud- 
den glory,  that  to  leave  this  earth  was  only  to  leave  earthly 
friends  for  the  presence  of  Him  who  is  dearer  than  all  other 
friends. 

"While  regretting  the  misspent  time  and  lost  opportunities,  I 
felt  great  calmness  from  the  knowledge  that  through  the  blood  of 
Christ  I  was  accepted,  and  was  enabled  to  say  in  my  heart,  'O 
Lord!  deliver  Thy  servant  in  Thine  own  way,  by  life  for  Thy 
service  on  earth,  or  by  death  for  Thy  praise  in  heaven.' 

"I  have  often  thought,  and  now  know,  that  the  mind  can  carry  \ 
on  several  operations  at  the  same  time.  While  meditating  on  my  / 
past  life,  and  rejoicing  that  the  question  of  salvation  was  settled, 
I  was  also  wondering  at  the  same  instant  how  it  feels  to  be  shot, 
and  whether  he  intended  to  fire  at  the  head  or  the  heart,  whether 
a  second  shot  would  be  necessary,   and  what  Mr.   Purdie  would 
say  when  he  heard  of  it.  Also  I  thought  of  the  pain  which  the 
news  would  give  at  home,  all  apparently  in  an  instant.  One  idea, 
amusing  from  its  triviality,   kept  coming  up,  certainly  without 
any  effort  of  mine  suddenly  presented  itself,  'Well,  Mrs.  Purdie  s 
will  never  get  her  oranges.7  While  so  many   other  important 
questions  were  occupying  my  attention,  this  was  certainly  an    . 
odd  notion  for  that  moment.  I    also  remember   counting  repeat- 
edly the  five  barrels  of  the  pistol,  and  even  noted  the  carving 
of  the  handle  with  a  singular  curiosity.'' 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  MY  ABSENCE.  ENCARNACION  <J<>.\- 
ZALEZ  AND  WIFE  JOIN  OUR  MISSION,  AND  ARE  SENT 
TO  GOMEZ  FARIAS.  LUCIANO  AND  ANGELITA  RETURN 
TO  MATAMOROS.  HER  DEATH.  EULOGY  WRITTEN  BY 
CALIXTO  LARA.  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

T  now  seemed  evident  that  in  order  to  permit  my 
absence  it  would  be  necessary  for  Luciano  to 
be  stationed  at  Matamoros,  and  all  hopes  of  any 
improvement  in  the  health  of  Angelita  having 
been  abandoned  it  was  thought  best  for  them  to 
return.  The  English  correspondence  of  the  Mission 
would  require  the  presence  6f  W.  A,  Walls,  whilst 
Francisco  Pena  was  but  just  beginning  to  labor  in 
the  public  ministry,  and  his  wife  being  a  firm  Roman 
Catholic  he  could  not  well  be  located  at  the  head  of 
the  Southern  Mission,  whilst  Julio  Gonzalez  Gea  was 
even  younger  in  the  ministry  and  his  family  would 
greatly  increase  the  expense  of  his  transfer. 

Just  at  this  needy  hour  Encarnacion  Gonzalez,  arid 
elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  who  had  long  felt 
colled  to  work  of  the  ministry,  requested  for  a  trans- 
fer to  our  church,  as  his  age  was  an  obstacle  to  his 
studying  for  the  ministry  in  a  church  requiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  dead  languages,  and  he  had  but  a 
limited  education  in  his  own.  He  was  however  a 
constant  student  of  the  Scriptures  and  a  most  con- 
scientious and  devout  Christian.  This  seemed  provi- 
dential at  that  juncture,  and  as  my  health  seemed  to- 
require  it,  Bro.  Walls  returned  during  the  latter  part 
of  February  1881,  and  arrangments  were  made  for 

150 


Angelita  returns  to  Matamoros. 

sending  Encarnacion  Gonzalez  and  wife  to  the 
Southern  Mission,  a  carriage  was  purchased,  which 
left  Matamoros  on  the  day  following  my  departure 
for  North  Carolina. 

They  reached  Llera  in  nine  days,  and  QS  soon  as 
they  had  their  baggage  transferred  to  Gomez  Farias, 
our  horses  being  used  for  pack  animals,  Luciano  and 
Angelita  began  their  toilsome  return  journey,  being 
aeompanied  by  Francisco  Pena. 

Ten  leagues  from  Victoria  one  wheel  of  the 
carriage  gave  way,  and  abandoning  it  there,  they 
preceded  on  horseback  to  Victoria,  where  another 
vehicle  was  procured  and  in  seven  days'  travel  they 
reached  Matamoros, 

Angelita  was  greatly  emaciated,  indeed  they  feared 
she  would  not  reach  her  destination,  but  she  ardently 
desired  to  see  her  mother  and  sister  andjbo  die  among 
those  persons  to  whom  she  was  so  closely  bound  in 
church  fellowship;  and  this  wish  was  granted  her. 

It  is  true  that  the  surroundings  at  the  mission 
rooms  still  seemed  lovely  to  her,  but  the  very  persons 
to  whom  she  was  most  closely,  bound  in  fellowship, 
and  of  whose  home  she  had  been  for  several  years  an 
inmate  were  absent,  and  the  little  babe  she  so  much 
desired  to  take  in  her  arms  ere  called  to  another 
world,  was  more  than  a  thousand  miles  away,  yet  the 
house  was  filled  by  the  brethren  who  nocked  to  see 
her  and  to  listen  to  the  earnest  exhortations  from 
her  dying  lips. 

She  only  survived  three  days  after  her  arrival,  and 
was  often  engaged  in  helping  sing  those  hymms 
which  are  so  full  of  consolation  for  the  dying  Chris- 
tian, and  as  death  was  closing  upon  her  she  aided  her 
husband  in  singing  the  136th  Psalm,  so  full  of  praise 
to  God  for  his  many  mercies. 

The  funeral,  upon  the  following  day,  was  attended 
by  an  immense  number  of  people,  not  only  members 
of  the  two  mission  churches,  but  many  friends  of  the 


ir>2     Dcdtlt  and  Burial  of  Angelitft. 

deceased  and  those  who  had  become  intimate  friends 
of  Luciano  for  his  literary  attainments,  and  including 
some  of  the  most  wealthy  and  influential  citizens. 

She  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  outside  the  city 
walls,  where  most  of  our  deceased  members  lie,  a 
very  numerous  company  following  the  corpse  to  the 
grave. 

She  died  just  as  she  seemed  prepared  for  the  true 
service  of  life,  cut  short  ere  reaching  the  meridian  of 
her  days  mourned  by  all  who  knew  her,and  the  mission 
church  realized  that  the  dear  young  woman  who  had 
been  called  away  at  but  twenty  one  years  of  age  had 
been  to  them  a  mother  in  Israel. 

They  had  heard  her  sweet  voice  sing  the  praises  of 
her  Lord,  when  a  robust  maiden  of  sixteen  years,  and 
had  watched  her  growth  in  grace  and  usefulness, 
until  the  hand  of  disease  had  left  but  a  physical  ruin, 
which  had  now  been  removed  for  ever  from  this  scene- 
of  toil  and  suffering. 

Perhaps  no  better  words  can  be  found  to  express 
the  feelings  of  our  members  than  those  of  Calixto 
Lara,  formerly  our  colporteur,  in  the  following 
eulogy  which  was  published  in  "El  Ramo  de  Olivo"" 
and  which  shows  not  only  how  a  Mexican  feels  but 
how  he  can  express  those  feelings. 

"With  deep  pain  I  take  the  pen  to  consecrate  a  few  lines  to  the* 
memory  of  this  sister  in  the  common  faith,  who  descended  to  t lie- 
grave  on  the  28th  of  March. 

"Death,  perennial  fountain  of  tears-  and  sighs,  indefatigable- 
worker  of  oblivion,  has  deprived  us  of  seeing  henceforth  a  sister 
in  Christ,  and  an  active  member  of  his  militant  church  in  this* 
world  of  trials  and  suffering* 

"It  is  but  a  little  while  since  we  saw  her  solicitously  exhorting 
the  other  members  to  follow  with  a  firm  step  the  narrow  and  rug- 
£<id  road  to  the  celestial  city,  and  exhorting  those  living  in  the 
darkness  of  error  and  superstition  to  repentance  of  their  sins  and; 
to  the  observance  of  the  pure  maxims  of  the  Gospel,  and  to- 
faith  in  the  Kedeemer  of  the  world  whose  blood  cleanseth  us  front 
all  sin 


Eulogy  by  Calixto  Lara.  153 

"A  little  while  ago  we  saw  her  with  joyful  and  smiling  counte- 
nance give  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  console  and  assist  those  who 
were  suffering  on  the  bed  of  pain.  An  obedient  daughter,  a  lov- 
ing and  amiable  sister,  a  faithful  wife,  a  sincere  and  well-wishing; 
friend.  Her  love  for  good  was  invincible,  and  she  never  ceded  be- 
fore the  obstacles  which  constantly  present  themselves  to  impede 
and  make  difficult  the  exercise  of  this  sublime  virtue* 

"In  vain  my  words  essay  to  analyze,  much  less  express  the  just 
encomium  due  to  the  virtues  of  a  person  to  whom  I  was  bound 
by  the  cords  of  respect  and  gratitude;  this  is  a  task  worthy  of 
more  expert  pens  and  greater  intelligence;  but  it  is  pleasing  to 
portray  even  though  imperfectly  the  gifts  with  which  Providence 
Bad  endowed  this  tender  flower,  wilted  in  the  morning  of  life. 

"Neither  the  muteness  of  the  sepulchre,  nor  the  darkness  of  the 
tomb,  are  sufficient  to  vail  the  splendid  glories  of  great  souls;  nor 
their  record  remains  engraved  in  indelible  characters  in  the  hearts 
of  the  survivors,  which  neither  time  nor  evil-speaking  can  be- 
cloud. Her  genius  leaps  axjross  the  bottlomless  pit  of  oblivion 
where  generations  are  buried,  and  centuries  will  roll  by  respecting: 
her  name  and  memory. 

"She  has  fulfilled  faithfully  her  mission  in  this  transitory  worldr 
bequeathing  us  an  example  which  should  be  imitated  by  all  true 
Christians. 

"Her  body,  inert  matter  which  served  as  a  tabernacle  for  her 
spirit,  has  returned  to  dust,  because  it  was  formed  of  dust,  but  her 
soul,  where  is  if?  It  is  in  the  presence  of  her  Savior,  enjoying  the 
reward  of  her  work,  clothed  in  the  white  robes  of  purity  and  in- 
corruptibility and  her  forehead  encircled  with  the  unfading  crown 
of  victory,  a  conqueror  by  faith  in  the  merits  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." — C.  LABA. 

This  death   scene  inspired  the  following  remarks- 
on  the  death  bed  of  a  Christian,  which  with  the  initials 
of  the  bereaved  husband  appeared  in  the   same  num- 
ber of  UE1  Ramo  de  Oliro." 

"How  sweet,  how  serene  and  happy  is  the  death  of  the  faithful 
believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus! 

"Happy  instant,  long  wished  for  moment,  when  that  which  is 
most  in  the  human  being,  and  which  makes  it  superior  to  the 
brute  creation,  the  soul,  casting  off  its  fleshly  clothing,  not  in  its 
own  will,  but  in  virtue  of  the  divine  will,  flies  rapidly  to  the  place 
of  eternal  rest,  to  reunite  with  those  who  like  her  *  have  waited 
and  watched  for  the  coming  of  him  who  said.  Watch  then,  for  ye 
know  not  the  hour  when  your  Lord  cometh.  Mat.  24:42. 

*  "Alma"  soul  is  feminine,  and  he  evidently  intends  to  be  understood 
as  speaking  of  the  death  of  Angelita, 


7/7  / 


on  tltc  J)c«tlt  of  Angelita. 


••In  her  looks,  in  her  words  are  reproduced  felicity,  peace  and 
contentment.  The  calmness  with  which  she  submits  to  the 
sharpest  pains,  shows  us  that  in  her  soul  a  supernatural  power 
is  working;  and  this  teaches  and  incites  lo  bless  the  fountain  of 
every  ji'ood  and  perfect  tfift. 

••Oh  Sublime  Gospel!  of  a  tmth  thou  art  the  Good  News,  the 
consoling  message  of  God  to  humanity."  —  L.  M. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Angelita  reached  the 
writer,  just  as  he  was  entering  a  Bible  School  Con- 
ference at  Back  Creek,  N.  C.  where  the  telegram  was 
read  and  a  sermon  appropriate  to  so  solemn  an  occa- 
sion was  preached  by  Rufus  P.  King,  and  will  long 
be  remembered  by  all  who  were  privileged  to  be  pre- 
sent, giving  a  just  tribute  to  the  dear  departed  Chris- 
tian, and  an  exhortation  to  improve  the  brief  years 
of  our  life  in  the  service  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SKETCH  OF  THE  MISSION  FROM  THE  DEATH  of 
ANGELITA  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

| ANY  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  Friendsf 
Mexican  Mission  since  the  death  of  this  dear 
sister,  We  returned  to  Matamoros  in  the  latter 
part  of  August  1881,  and  resumed  charge  of  the 
work.  The  sister  of  Angelita  was  married  to  our 
Friend  W.  A.  Walls  on  the  29th  of  the  same  month, 
and  they  were  stationed  at  Escandon  where  they  la- 
bored for  two  years  under  the  Foreign  Mission  Com- 
mittee of  Ohio  Yearly  Meeting. 

In  April  1882  the  meeting  under  charge  of  Jose 
Maria  (rarza  at  Cadereita  Jimenez,  which  had  been 
organized  as  a  Congreg'ationalist  Mission  some  years 
before,  and  where  several  desired  liberty  of  conscience 
in  regard  to  Baptism,  which  some  deemed  as  not  re- 
quired of  them,  accepting  it  only  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
was  recognized  by  our  meeting  at  Matamoros  as  a 
sister  church  and  a  part  of  our  Mission,  though  re- 
ceiving no  pecuniary  support  except  books.  Our 
Friend  Grarza  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  prisoners 
in  the  city  jail  where  a  night  school  was  started  for 
the  prisoners  and  he  had  good  success  in  evangelistic 
work  among  them,  having  been  instrumental  in  the 
conversion  of  several  persons  who  had  been  hardened 
in  crime/ 

155 


i~>c>     Work  Resumed  at  San  Fernando. 

Branch  meetings  have  been  held  at  San  Francisco 
de  Apodaca  and  several  other  towns  near  there,  either 
by  our  Friend  Jose"  Maria  Garza  or  by  some  of  the 
members  of  his  congregation  who  have  felt  called  to 
public  labor  for  Christ. 

The  work  at  San  Fernando  was  resumed  in  the 
Spring  of  1882  by  Julio  Gkmzalez  Gea,  who  opened  a 
Day  School.  For  three  months  after  announcing  his 
school  no  children  came,  but  as  fear  began  to  diminish 
a  few  boys  were  sent  in.  This  developed  into  a  school 
of  thirty  pupils  who  were  daily  taught  many  impor- 
tant Gospel  Truths,  and  has  resulted  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  second  magistrate  of  the  village,  Santiago 
Garcia  Gonzalez,  who  has  had  charge  of  the  Gram- 
mar classes  in  the  school,  though  working  voluntari- 
ly as  an  unpaid  coadjutor.  He  feels  called  to  the  min- 
istry and  we  trust  will  be  a  useful  laborer  in  the 
near  future.  His  sister  Gertrudis  G.  de  Uresti,  has 
since  been  converted  and  has  charge  of  a  Girls1  School 
at  Mendez,  an  out-station  of  the  San  Fernando  Mis- 
sion, which  is  sustained  by  the  Foreign  Mission  Com- 
mittee of  New  York  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends.  Her 
school  receives  books  free  from  our  Publishing  House 
at  Matamoros,  but  a  small  stipend  from  parents  sus- 
tains the  teacher  at  present.  Thus  that  station  which 
gave  so  little  promise  when  Luciano  and  Angelita 
were  there,  has  given  to  the  cause  of  Christ  two  able 
native  laborers,  who  are  ready  to  leave  home  and  go 
forth  in  the  Cause  of  their  Redeemer. 

The  little  gathering  at  Gomez  Farias  has  grown  to 
a  large  meeting  of  over  100  attenders,  having  among 
its  members  the  most  influential  residents,  and  a  nice 
meeting  house,  known  as  Mendenhall  Chapel,  built  by 
Richard  J,  and  Abby  G.  Mendenhall  of  Minneapolis, 
who  sustain  that  mission  and  are  planning  further 
improvements. 

Luciano  was  married  to  Virginia  Washington,  teach- 
er of  our  Girls'  School  in  December  1882,  and  they  are 


Further  Progress  of  the  Work.      157 

now  in  charge  of  the  new  mission  at  Santa  Barbara, 
45  miles  from  Gromez  Farias,  the  cradle  of  the  Mexi- 
can Reform  movement  of  Father  Lozano.  The  priest 
of  that  village  had  married  a  few  weeks  before  they 
arrived,  and  is  now  using  his  influence  in  favor  of 
the  new  Evangelical  movement.  A  local  Evangelical 
paper  is  issued  every  two  weeks,  and  has  an  exten- 
sive circulation  and  influence  in  the  whole  Southern 
part  of  Tamaulipas.  Luciano  as  Superintendant  of 
the  Southern  Mission  is  busy  organizing  a  circuit  for 
stated  meetings  in  several  other  villages  of  that  sec- 
tion. 

In  April  1882  our  mission  was  joined  by  Librado 
Ramirez,  who  had  been  connected  with  the  Presby- 
terian Mission,  and  who  was  stationed  at  Soto  la 
Marina  in  August  1883.  The  prospect  of  that  being 
opened  as  a  port  for  foreign  commerce  and  becoming 
a  Railroad  centre  led  us  to  prefer  that  station,  but 
the  failure  of  this  latter  may  lead  to  his  transfer  to 
some  other  point.  The  Women  Friends  of  Western 
Yearly  Meeting  have  sent  Ora  Osborne  and  Lillie 
Neiger  of  Danville  Ind.  to  join  him  in  the  Mexican 
field. 

The  work  at  Matamoros  has  not  been  forgotten  by 
those  who  watch  over  it,  and  although  commercial 
depression  has  led  to  the  emigration  of  more  than 
one  half  of  our  members,  including  our  most  stable 
native  elders,  to  other  points,  the  attendance  has  not 
diminished  and  the  Bible  School  is  now,  fall  of  1884, 
in  the  most  flourishing  condition.  The  Girls'  School 
being  led  by  Julia  L.  Ballenger,  who  is  sustained  by 
Women  Friends  of  Philadelphia,  aided  by  Luisa  Flo- 
res,  a  native  teacher,  who  is  sustained  by  Women 
Friends  of  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting.  It  is  now  devel- 
oping into  a  Boarding  School,  with  rich  promise  for 
the  Mexican  Church. 

A  Dorcas  Society  has  been  organized  for  clothing 
the  needy,  and  in  connection  with  it  a  weekly  visit 


Further  Progress  of  the  Work. 

to  all  tlu1  families  of  its  members,  with  Scripture 
reading  and  prayer  at  each  house,  which  is  develop- 
ing the  evangelistic  effort  of  the  female  part  of  our 
meeting.  Among  the  converts  to  Protestantism 
through  these  efforts  is  Librada  Mascorro  de  Moreno, 
a  sister  of  Luciano  Mascorro  and  who  had  until  then 
been  a  most  resolute  Catholic,  even  when  one  brother 
was  a  minister,  and  her  mother  and  another  brother 
members  of  Protestant  churches. 

Santos  Rodriguez  de  Gonzalez,  wife  of  our  minis- 
tor  at  Gomez  Farias  is  an  able  female  evangelist, 
nearly  equal  in  zeal  to  Angelita,  and  Virginia  W.  de 
Muscorro  gives  promise  of  good  service  is  the  Cause 
of  Christ,  thus  we  trust  God  will  continue  to  bless 
us  with  native  female  evangelists  who  like  Phebe 
and  Priscilla,  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  Persis  and 
Lydia,  may  prove  themselves  worthy  successors  of 
that  long  list  of  female  prophets  and  teachers,  who 
have  adorned  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  with 
their  holy  lives  and  their  eloquent  words  for  Jesus. 

Whilst  the  growth  of  evangelistic  and  school  work 
has  been  thus  enlarged,  the  publishing  department 
has  far  outstepped  them  both.  From  month  to  month 
new  calls  for  our  religious  books  reach  us  from  all 
parts  of  Mexico,  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  from  all  of 
the  Republics  of  Central  America,  from  Cuba,  Porto 
Rico  and  Santo  Domingo  [Hayti]  as  well  as  Colom- 
bia, Venezuela,  Chili,  the  Argentine  Republic  and 
Uruguay  in  South  America,  and  in  all  these  we  are 
supplying  reading  rooms  and  public  libraries,  and  by 
means  of  our  exchange  papers  bringing  a  direct  in- 
fluence on  the  public  mind,  and  upholding  the  Gos- 
pel standard  as  the  healing  balm  for  individuals,  fa- 
milies and  nations,  as  it  will  be  to  all  who  receive  it 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 

These  nations  have  drunk  the  cup  of  war  to  the 
div^-s,  have  seen  its  devastating  influence  as  well  as 
it>  demoralizing  tendency  and  many  are  longing  for 


Further  Progress  of  the  Work.      159 

some  token  of  permanent  peace  and  moral  and  social 
progress. 

The  thinking  minds  are  alive  to  many  important 
questions  and  perhaps  abler  arguments  against  the 
death  penalty,  and  against  judicial  oaths  have  never 
been  produced  than  those  wielded  by  the  legislators 
of  Spanish  America.  These  are  special  reasons  why 
the  Society  of  Friends,  which  has  long  stood  almost 
alone  in  upholding  testimonies  against  these  and  kin- 
dred evils  should  tend  a  helping  hand,  to  present 
these  reforms  not  from  a  rationalistic  point  of  view, 
but  from  a  Gospel  standpoint,  not  as  the  elimination 
of  human  reasoning,  but  as  the  teachings  of  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh^  as  the  Savior  of  the  world. 

The  work  has  hardly  begun,  and  there  seems  to  be 
no  limit  to  that  which  should  be  done  now  in  these 
needy  fields,  fast  ripening  unto  the  harvest.  The 
awakening  now  going  on  in  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
regard  to  Foreign  Missions  is  a  token  for  good,  and 
we  trust  that  this  little  volume  may  contribute  to 
foster  that  interest,  not  only  in  showing  to  those 
blessed  with  means  the  fruit  of  their  efforts  in  the 
past  and  the  opportunities  of  the  future,  but  that  it 
will  be  instrumental  in  fostering  in  others  a  willing- 
ness to  give  themselves  to  the  Lord  in  these  fields 
and  with  all  the  energies  they  possess  consecrated 
wholly  to  his  service,  be  ready  to  go  forth  trusting 
in  Him  who  hath  called  them,  and  count  it  all  joy  to 
endure  baldness,  whether  it  be  in  encountering  hard- 
ships or  in  suffering  persecution  for  the  furtherance 
of  this  blessed  work. 

Above  all  let  us  pray  unto  the  Master  of  the  vine- 
yard, that  he  send  forth  more  laborers  into  his  vine- 
yard, that  he  raise  up  many  among  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  Spanish  America,  who  like  the  subject 
of  our  narrative,  like  the  noble  sons  and  daughters  of 
Spain  whoe  sealed  their  testimony  to  Jesus  with 
their  lives  in  the  Autos  de  Fe  of  Valladolid  and  Se- 


Conclwl / //  <j  E.vh<> rtatio n. 

ville,  may  fulfill  the  injunction  of  the   Apostle: — "I 

BESEECH  YOU  THEREFORE,  BRETHREN,  BY  THE  MERCIES 
OF  GOD,  THAT  YE  PRESENT  YOUR  BODIES  A  LIVING  SAC- 
RIFICE, HOLY,  ACCEPTABLE  UNTO  GOD,  WHICH  IS  YOUR 
SEASONABLE  SERVICE."  Rom.  XII.  1. 


THE  END. 


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